Bone grafting in holistic dentistry - Kometa Bio

Bone grafting in holistic dentistry

The basic principles of holistic dentistry are centered on biologically sound dentistry, use of biocompatible materials and protocols, and minimal invasive dentistry. When it comes to considering bone grafts for holistic practices the options are limited. Synthetic grafts don’t apply themselves well to the holistic approach since these materials are synthetic and are basically trying to mimic the behavior of human tissue (more often than not – unsuccessfully).  Xenografts, that are sourced from other species, typically try to provide a scaffold but at the same time these are foreign bodies that aren’t biologically compatible.  The evidence for that is that xenograft particulate is often encapsulated by think cementum layer as a way to isolate the particulate from its surrounding.  Allografts, that are sourced from human cadaver bone, is certainly a step in the right direction, but still isn’t the most biologically sound material for holistic practices. Allografts also tend to be deficient in their ability to maintain the site for long and usually resorb too quickly before the regenerated bone has sufficient time to mature to lamellar bone.   Although autologous bone offers a true biocompatible and biological sound material that will be immediately accepted by the host site, autologous bone does require harvesting and typically a secondary surgical site.  This aspect complicates the procedure, not always sit well with the patient and works against the minimal invasiveness approach.

For the last 10 years, a different approach is becoming popular for bone grafting – autologous dentin grafting. The idea is to use an already extracted tooth from the patient, sterile and clean the tooth from any external materials, and then crush the tooth and use it in the same way as bone particulate.  The use of the Smart Dentin Grinder® reduces this entire procedure down to only 7-8 minutes.  Aautologous dentin holds tremendous value. First dentin and bone are almost identical in composition. Dentin contains more BMPs and Growth Factors in comparison to harvested bone. It is an excellent slow resorbing scaffold that even attracts progenitor cells therefore accelerating bone regeneration. Autologous dentin graft was found to be both osseoconductive and osseoinductive.  In practice, the site accepts the autologous dentin graft very well noticeable by very little inflammation and ample amount of new bone regeneration in a consistent and highly predictable manner.

This option of utilizing the patient’s own extracted tooth for socket preservation, GBR, ridge augmentation and even sinus lift is a perfect fit for your holistic practice and will be well received by your patients. 

The autologous dentin graft is sometimes criticized by holistic dentists that fear that decay and other contaminants from the tooth would infect the site and impair purity of the material. To that extent the Smart Dentin Grinder® protocol has established a simple cleansing mechanism that eliminates all bacteria, decay, and any organic components. 

For more information about this protocol, please visit www.kometabio.com

Holistic principles and bone grafting: