BONE REGENERATION
In bone regeneration, it is not enough to put in “synthetic bone”. There are very precise rules, established by biology, that must be followed to achieve true bone regeneration. Different materials can be used: autologous bone, taken directly from the patient’s mouth; xenografts, when the strictly certified material comes from another animal. Bone of animal origin, before reaching the mouth, undergoes a long series of chemical and physical steps that ensure that it retains only its mineral component, which is unable to generate immune responses.
Why does one have to wait months before being able to proceed?
Because the newly grafted bone needs time to take root. The bone cells slowly colonise the bone graft, making it become one with the surrounding bone. But that’s not all! Even when integrated, the new bone is not yet able to withstand chewing loads: it must therefore go through a functional education phase, whereby the bone trabeculae prepare themselves to resist chewing. The greater the lack of bone, the longer it has to wait – these are the laws of biology.
