Dental bone grafts have gone through a period of growth and revision with multiple xeno-, synthetic-, and allo-graft options now available to the general public with techniques and materials for dental surgeries having vastly improved in recent years. Dental implants are often an optimal means for patients to replace missing teeth, and particularly for individuals that have bone deficiencies, bone grafting is essential for successful operations. However, each variation of dental bone grafts has its pros and cons in its application and its long-term effects on the patient, and as with most products, there are limitations to the existing options.
One of the more significant limitations of current synthetic bone grafts is insufficient cell migration into implanted bone grafts. In some cases, there is limited surface area for cell attachment, and in others, there is an insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients for the frontage cell-line. Other products may be slow in increasing cell numbers inside the bone graft or may have a limited amount of blood vessel formation and blood circulation that assuages healthy cell growth. It is also not uncommon in cases of bone grafting for there to be slower or fewer cell differentiation. In all, these limitations correlate to the end result of poor bone regeneration and, in some cases, non-union between the new growth and the pre-existing bone.
There are, of course, more limitations in the field of dental bone grafts than what is simply listed above. The faults described are mainly directed towards the function of osteoconductive performance in dental bone grafts, but it is the belief of OsteoGene Tech that this specific function of bone grafts, specifically in synthetic products, is one that needs to be polished for optimal performance in surgery. Alternatively, just as there are existing limitations, there are certain qualities that are ideal for dental bone grafts.
First and foremost, the dental bone graft should provide a suitable substrate such that it is both biocompatible and osteoconductive. While all bone grafts are osteoconductive to an extent, the degree in which healthy bone growth is observed varies between products. It is also important that an implant has high biocompatibility as bone grafts would ideally be integrated into the patient’s system naturally over a period of time.
In the same vein of thought of new bone growth, it is vital that implanted bone grafts are capable of providing mechanical integrity and nutrient support during the process of bone regeneration. A preemptive collapse of the graft could disrupt the healing process, and a lack of nutrients to migrating cells prevents healthy cell growth and the formation of capillaries and blood vessels. On a cellular level, the product should allow for ease of migration of cells, abundant surface for cell to anchor proper distribution, proliferation, and microenvironments for osteogenesis and angiogenesis. Additionally, bone grafts should be customizable to the specific needs of the patient undergoing a dental procedure or surgery and therefore more widely applicable to a variety of cases. OsteoGene Tech strove to meet the criteria for an ideal synthetic bone graft with InRoad® spearheading the movement to more efficient alloplast products that overcome the limitations commonly seen for bone regeneration. InRoad®’s design meets all the qualifications to be considered an ideal bone graft and actually goes beyond simply meeting the minimum requirements. With its three-part structure, InRoad® has a superior sucking property compared to the top bone grafts available on the market today, which facilitates greater ease in cell migration and new bone growth at the site of application, and has no reported adverse effects during its testing period. At this current point in time, InRoad® is opening a new stage for bone grafts for both medical practitioners and patients alike.
