Bone Substitute Selection for Oral and Maxillofacial Bone Grafting

Different types of bone substitutes have been introduced for the reconstruction of the defects in oral and maxillofacial area. Although autografts are known as the gold standard for bone grafting, other bone substitutes, including allografts, xenografts, and alloplastic materials, have developed to reduce the disadvantages of harvesting the autografts and provide larger graft volume. To select the bone substitute, both the properties of the materials and the patient’s conditions must be considered. Properties of the biomaterials that are described in this chapter include chemical nature, physical and mechanical properties, degradation rate, biocompatibility, and osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. Age, general health, size, and anatomical site of the defect and functional load at the defect are assessed as important items among patient’s conditions. Also, different types of defects are also mentioned as another important factor among patient aspects as well as clinical applications of biomaterials for bone grafting in patients.