Bone Grafting Scarborough If asked, most people would consider bone grafting a modern-day development with regard to patient treatment but they would be wrong. Believe it or not, bone grafts have been practiced for centuries. The first successful bone graft was placed in the 1600s by a Dutch doctor who employed the use of a dog skull fragment to repair a skull injury suffered by a soldier on the battlefield. The dog skull fragment bonded with the soldier's skull allowing him to survive, and in doing so gave birth to a new type of medical practice in the medical community. Most people might know the term "bone graft" but are unaware of how they work and what they actually are made of. Bone grafts are used to restore lost bone mass in the lower and upper jaw so that the jawbone can be restored to the point that it is capable of supporting other restorative dental appliances like dental implants or implant supported dentures. Bone Graft DescriptionWhen harvesting bone graft tissue, it is important that it remains disease and infection-free. If the tissue is compromised in any way, the bone graft procedure will not be successful. A bone graft is the process of harvesting bone tissue from a healthy location on the patient's body and then placing it on a compromised site. Bone grafts help patients who suffer from bone loss and offer them the chance to have other restorative dental procedures. When you have additional bone mass it allows the once compromised jawbones the ability to provide a good foundation to support dental appliances. Types of GraftsAll grafts, regardless of what type they are, incorporate healthy tissue applied to an area of the body in need of treatment. The two main types of grafts are autografts and allografts. When the harvested tissue is taken from the patient's body, it is called an autograft. The most frequently used sites for tissue harvest are the pelvic bone and the hip bone. The allograft does not harvest tissue from the patient's body but rather a donor. In some cases, when a donor cannot be found, then a tissue bank can be utilized which stores tissue from cadavers. Bone Grafting for Dental Implant PlacementAny patient who would like to find out more about bone grafts can come see us at our Coastal Maine Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery office. Contact us today at 207-401-5006 to get your office visit scheduled. |
