Sintered vs. Non-Sintered Grafts: Why Manufacturing Matters
Introduction
Over the years in clinical practice, Dr. Schlesinger encountered problems with traditional grafting materials that led him to understand the fundamental difference between sintered and non-sintered grafts. That difference, he discovered, changes everything about how a material behaves in the body.
What Sintering Does
Sintered materials are subjected to high heat during manufacturing. This process creates crystals that can be used as grafting materials, but it fundamentally changes the material's physical properties. The phosphate and hydroxyl groups—the ions that make grafts biologically useful—get locked in place. The material loses its ability to freely exchange ions with surrounding cells. More critically, sintering turns the graft into a ceramic. And ceramics are very difficult for the body to break down.
The Clinical Consequences
When the body has difficulty resorbing a material, it can take extreme measures. Instead of complete regeneration, encapsulation can occur. The normal macrophages cannot break down the graft, and the creation of giant cells can occur.
This problem has been documented in orthopedics, when large quantities of graft material can induce an immunological response. Giant cells encapsulate sintered materials and move them to the body’s large filters: the liver, spleen, and lymphatic system. Over time, if not removed or broken down, the graft particles can become encapsulated.
On a radiograph, this creates a problem: sintered materials remain highly radiopaque. Months later, the site looks like solid bone. But when you enter to place an implant, you often find unincorporated graft surrounded by connective tissue, not vital bone.
Though primary stability can be achieved, it is not the true bone-to-implant contact you may believe you have. Masticatory forces can stress the bone over time and this retained graft material may be responsible for some of the medium and long-term failures we see.
Non-Sintered Materials: A Different Approach
Non-sintered materials are not exposed to high heat. OsteoGen crystals, for example, remain lower in density and are highly porous with intertwined clusters. This allows free ion exchange with surrounding cells, making regeneration easier for both the patient and the body. The result is turnover within 4-6 months and bone that is histologically similar to surrounding native bone. There are no barriers to healing, as the body recognizes the material and breaks it down readily.
What Sets OsteoGen Apart
Dr. Schlesinger emphasizes: there is not another product with the same formulation as OsteoGen crystals. Competitors may look similar in packaging, but they're built on sintered carbonated apatite combined with bovine collagen, which takes much longer to break down, if it breaks down at all. Many practitioners have seen this firsthand without necessarily recognizing the cause—going back in at five or six months and finding material that still looks untouched, with high radiopacity on imaging, but not always connecting that observation to the fact that the product they're using is sintered.
OsteoGen's Bioactive Crystal Technology is unique and clinically proven. It has continued to demonstrate consistent, predictable performance in practice. For alveolar ridge preservation and beyond, choose non-sintered, bioactive materials. They can remove barriers to healing and keep every restorative option open.
Learn more about OsteoGen Bone Grafting Plugs
|
|
|
