During oral surgery, bone grafting and implantology many problems can arouse, and surgical procedures can last longer than they should.
What are the complications that can slow down intervention on dental implants?
Using commercial bone grafts:
1. unexpected fracture during the shaping or dental implant fixation
2. powder formation during the adaptation to the receiving site
3. difficulties in obtaining a perfect contact between native tissue and bone graft
4. after-effects, such as necrosis, infections, wound dehiscence, no osteointegration, bone graft reabsorption, poor mechanical properties, bone graft fracture after dental implants fixation.
Using autologous bone grafts:
1. two surgical interventions are required, and this increases risks and costs for the patient
2. there is a 10% complication rate (infection, fracture, pain, paresthesia, nerve injury, and donor-site morbidity).
So, what are the main things a surgeon can do to avoid complications?
1. shape the bone graft properly in order to find a perfect match between contact surfaces. This is normally very difficult to do.
2. order an “on demand” product: this means not having to shape the bone, but having it shaped in advance by a third party based on a CT scan
3. in case of a commercial graft, soak it in the patient’s blood before oral surgery to stimulate tissue integration. With Smartbone® this procedure is extremely enhanced, thanks to its high hydrophilicity.
4. avoid reabsorption of the bone graft:
usually the quantity of bone substitute that is used by doctors is 30 to 40% more than is necessary, since it is normally subject to initial reabsorption. This leads to unpredictability of the degree of tissue regeneration or loss, in the months to come.Smartbone® is not subject to mechanical degradation and allows you to completely fill the defect.
The gold standard for oral surgery continues to be the removal of bone from the patient since autografts retain the human bone’s original features. Evidence is shown here: http://www.fmshk.org/database/articles/03db3.pdf
The closest we can get to autologous grafts is to find a graft that mimics the human healthy cortical bone, which doesn’t show signs of degradation and acts like a sponge for blood.