Adress

Curasan Inc.

P.O. Box 12339
Research Triangle Park,
NC 27709-12339

Phone:
(919) 941-9770 or
(888) 237-2767
(only inside the US)

Fax:
(919) 941-9775

Patients

Informations for Patients

If your dental professional has told you that you need bone grafting before a dental implant, it is most likely for one of two reasons.You have a tooth or root canal that cannot be saved so it needs to be extracted and its space in the bone ridge needs to be filled.Or there is a bone defect in your jaw or maxillary bone that must be repaired before an implant can be securely placed.

In either case, the affected area will have to be repaired to strengthen the bone.There are several procedures that repair defects, most of which involve bone grafting.

Your dental professional has a number of choices in bone grafting techniques and materials.

What is bone grafting?

Bone grafting involves placing bone – or bone-like materials – in the defect area to encourage new bone to grow to fill the space.  The sooner that the new bone can grow into the defect, the sooner you can have the implant or prosthesis put in.

Are some bone grafting materials safer than others?

Bone grafting materials typically come in three categories: autogenous bone, cadaveric/ animal bone and synthetic bone materials.

Autogenous bone, meaning your own bone, can be used.  This requires an additional surgical procedure in which some of your own bone is harvested – from another part of your jaw, hipbone (iliac crest) or tibia– for insertion into the defect area.

Cadaveric bone comes from human sources.  While bone banks follow specific safety procedures, recent attention in the US has been focused on unethical suppliers who took bone from cadavers without adequate permission or monitoring.  There have also been increasing concerns about the safety of bovine bone because of the possibility of transmission of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (mad cow disease).

Cerasorb®, a synthetic tricalcium phosphate product, is the result of 20 years of research and development into better bone regeneration materials.  Its popularity in Europe has been growing because of its purity and performance. Now it is available in the US. Unlike older synthetics, Cerasorb® resorbs within six to 12 months for most patients.

You should ask your professional what grafting material he or she will use before the procedure.

Where can you go for additional information?

We will add information to this web site over the next several months.  Find out more about Bone Regeneration in our Professionals section.

In the interim, you may wish to consult the following organizations for more information about bone regeneration and implants, how to locate a professional and much more: