Bone Grafting Substitutes in Dentistry: General Criteria for Proper Selection and Successful Application

Restoration of bone defects in the oral cavity is one of the major challenges for dental surgeon. A common example is handling of bone defect after simple tooth extraction for ridge preservation. Often delivering prosthodontic and implant treatments face difficulties during oral rehabilitations in bone defect site. Bone defect site needs to be restored in such a way to support further treatment. In this context, basic knowledge of bone grafting substitutes, their basic characteristics, differences and clinical indications is critical. Different types of bone grafts with different properties are available which may confuse the clinician. Among them the produced bone grafts based on biomimetic principle are of particular interest, as they replicate more closely the natural bone by combining both organic (i.e. collagen) and inorganic phases (i.e. bioceramics). Therefore, the general criteria for appropriate selection of right bone substitutes for application in the bone defect sites have to be understood. Unfortunately, many of bone graft substitutes are randomly selected from the available market for various applications. The purpose of this short review is to provide general guidelines for appropriate selection and application of bone grafts.