Shulman Lb

Bone maintenance: implant versus transplant.

Bone maintenance based on various attachment mechanisms is the key to tooth-root replacement safety and efficacy. The dental implant has broad applicability based on design, but demonstrates progressive peri-implant bone loss. The allogeneic tooth transplant, significantly less applicable because of size, is antigenic and rejected by bone-replacement root resorption. Since the predictability and survival times of these implant and transplant modalities are similar and there is less residual bone loss with the transplant, it is suggested that for clinical situations such as the fresh extraction socket, where there is room, the allotransplant, rather than implant, is the root-replacement of choice.