Natural and synthetic bone replacement graft materials for dental and maxillofacial applications

Abstract Over the years, there have been several clinical techniques and material options that have been investigated for dental and maxillofacial applications. The development of improved biomaterials for bone tissue engineering has significantly improved the available treatment options and their clinical results. Bone replacement graft materials and various growth factors and combinations of these have been used. The available bone tissue replacement materials commonly used include autografts, allografts, xenografts, and alloplasts. These graft materials mostly function as osteogenic, osteoinductive, and/or osteoconductive scaffolds. This chapter aims to review various available natural tissues and biomaterial-based bone replacement graft and options used for dental bone regeneration applications.