Wood - The Next Bone Graft Material?

One of our members brought the following story from the BBC to my attention. Scientists in Italy have developed a way of turning rattan wood into bone that is almost identical to the human tissue. The team is lead by Dr Anna Tampieri. "It's proving very promising" she says. "This new bone material is strong, so it can take heavy loads that bodies will put on it. "It is also durable, so, unlike existing bone substitutes, it won't need replacing".

In our periodontal and implant practice, we have been using bone grafts for decades to restore normal physiologic bony parameters around teeth, as well as to facilitate ideal dental implant placement and restoration. In our experience, the synthetic graft materials, although successful, have yielded results that are less desirable than the outcomes achieved with autografts, allografts, and xenografts. However, this is very interesting and promising. Time will tell if it will truly be a viable bone graft material. Check it out.

Source: BBC
Photo credit: BBC