# Dental Bone Grafting

> Citation bundle for Dental Bone Grafting on The Treatment Registry.
> URL: https://thetreatmentregistry.com/procedures/bone-grafting
> Bundle URL: https://thetreatmentregistry.com/api/citations/procedures/bone-grafting

- Category: dental

## Description

Bone grafting is a type of transplantation used to replace missing bone tissue or stimulate the healing of fractures. This surgical procedure is useful for repairing bone fractures that are extremely complex, pose a significant health risk to the patient, or fail to heal properly, leading to pseudoarthrosis.

## Overview

Bone grafting is a form of transplantation used to replace missing bone tissue or to stimulate new bone formation. In dentistry, its most common purpose is to rebuild jawbone so that dental implants can be placed: implants need enough surrounding bone to support them and to integrate properly, and people who have been without teeth for a long time, or who have lost bone to infection, periodontal disease, trauma or ageing, may not have enough bone in the right places. A graft can be carried out before implant placement or at the same time. The grafted material may be the patient's own bone (autograft), commonly harvested intra-orally from the chin or the ascending ramus of the lower jaw, or from sites such as the iliac crest; donor bone from a bone bank (allograft); animal-derived bone, usually bovine (xenograft); or synthetic material such as hydroxyapatite (alloplast). Xenograft is often chosen for its volume stability over time, while allograft offers strong regeneration but less volume stability, and a mixture of materials is frequently used. Grafts work through osteoconduction (providing a scaffold that guides bone growth), osteoinduction (prompting cells to become bone-forming osteoblasts) and osteogenesis (living bone cells contributing to remodelling). Bone can be placed as a whole block or particulated so that it adapts closely to the defect being repaired.

## Peer-reviewed outcome rates

- **Complication rate:** 7.85% (range 7.00–10.80%) — from 3 cited sources

## Common risks

- Reactions to medication
- Breathing problems
- Bleeding
- Infection (reported in under 1% of cases and usually treatable with antibiotics)
- Additional pain or complications at an autograft donor site

## FAQs

### What is dental bone grafting?

Bone grafting is a form of transplantation that replaces missing bone or stimulates new bone growth. In dentistry it is most often used to rebuild lost jawbone — for example after infection, periodontal disease, trauma or ageing — so that dental implants can be supported.

### Why is a bone graft needed before dental implants?

Dental implants need enough surrounding bone to support them and to integrate properly. People who have been without teeth for a long time may not have enough bone in the necessary places, so a graft is used to restore it. The graft can be placed before, or at the same time as, implant placement.

### What materials are used for bone grafts?

Options include the patient's own bone (autograft), donor bone from a bone bank (allograft), animal-derived bone that is usually bovine (xenograft) and synthetic materials such as hydroxyapatite (alloplast). A mixture is often used.

### Where is the patient's own bone taken from?

For dental grafts, autologous bone is commonly harvested intra-orally from the chin or the ascending ramus of the lower jaw, or from other sites such as the iliac crest of the pelvis.

### How long does a bone graft take to heal?

Most grafts are resorbed and gradually replaced by the patient's own bone as it heals and remodels, generally over several months. An implant is placed once there is enough stable, healed bone to support it.

### What are the risks?

Risks include reactions to medication, breathing problems, bleeding and infection, which is reported in under 1% of cases and is usually treatable with antibiotics. When the graft is taken from the patient's own body, the donor site adds another location for post-operative pain and possible complications.

## Cited authors

- Pedro Henrique de Azambuja Carvalho — Department of Diagnosis and Surgery, Dental School at Araraquara - UNESP - São Paulo State University, 1680th Humaitá Street, Araraquara,…
- Javier Sánchez-Sánchez — Department of Dental Clinical Specialties, Faculty of Dentistry, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
- Hamoun Sabri

## Sources

- [Horizontal Ridge Augmentation: A Comparison between Khoury and Urban Technique.](https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10080749) — Biology (accessed 2026-06-28)
- [Bone augmentation using titanium mesh: A systematic review and meta-analysis.](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39283219/) — International journal of oral implantology (Berlin, Germany) (accessed 2026-06-28)
- [Horizontal ridge augmentation using xenogenous bone graft-systematic review.](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10006-019-00777-y) — Oral and maxillofacial surgery (accessed 2026-06-28)