Autogenous and xenogeneic bone grafts for the bone regeneration. A literature review

The aim of this article is to investigate 2 groups of biomaterials widely used in the surgical procedures for bone regeneration in dentistry: autograft and xenograft bone. An insufficient bone volume is the main condition for the long life stability of osteointegrated implants. Thanks to the numerous surgical procedures and fervent research, the possibility to rebuild the bone is now much more predictable than in the past. This has provided the clinician with more solutions to handle complex situations. In the last decade, the demand for regenerative surgery for functional and aesthetic reasons has increased. The autogenous bone graft is considered the gold standard material for any regeneration procedures, because of its main properties: it is osteogenetic, osteoinductive and osteoconductive. The autogenous bone can be harvested from 2 different sites: the intraoral and the extraoral sites. Intraoral donor site are the symphysis of the mandible, the mandibular ramus and the maxillary tuberosity. Extraoral donor site are the iliac crest, the tibia and the skull. The xenogeneic bone graft is a graft that has been taken from a donor of another species. These natural materials, thanks to their chemical-physical characteristics similar to those of the human bone, show great osteoconductive properties.