During the body's normal maintenance cycle, specialized cells in the blood continually enter your tissue to remove damaged cells and replace them with new, healthy cells.
Grafting procedures place a framework of material in the areas of missing bone into which these cells can enter and start the rebuilding process. Over time your cells will remodel the graft material into your own functioning bone.
Bone grafting material comes from several sources. Autograft bone is material that is taken from another point in the patient's body and transplanted to the desired site. It is a good graft material since it contains the patient's own cells, and carries no risk of disease transmission. The chief drawbacks are that it requires a second surgical procedures and enough harvestable bone that may not be easily available.
Allograft bone is material that was taken from an organ donor and processed to ensure its safety and improve the handling characteristics. The advantages of allograft bone are that it is readily available and does not require a second surgical site. Allograft bone has been well documented in clinical trials and has an excellent safety record.
