Defect augmentation is a
term often used in dentistry. It refers to various methods of building
up bone to correct defects in the jaw.
Bone defects in the jaw can have many different causes. For example,
removal of a cyst can result in a so-called „solitary bone defect“. The
animation shows a hole in the bone right after the removal of a cyst,
which usually fills up with blood, which later turns into bone. But if a
cyst is too big, then this process does not work as well, since the
blood contracts – and the larger the defect, the smaller the blood clot
that forms. If the defect is really big, then the blood clot may shrink
to the extent that it has no more contact to the bone, and conversion of
blood to bone is no longer possible – this results in a bone defect.
These bone defects make implanting difficult, moreover, these defects
can cause pain, especially if the holes in the bone are very big.
To avoid this type of complication, larger bone defects, as shown here
in the animation, need to be filled up with bone replacement material
immediately after removal of the cyst. This prevents the blood clot from
shrinking – one example of defect augmentation.
One other example of defect augmentation is for loss of bone due to
parodontitis. Here you can see a tooth with a slight recession in the
bone, isolated defects of this sort can be corrected using bone
replacement material. The membrane is flipped open, bone replacement
material is inserted and the wound is sewn up. Over the course of
several weeks the material in this area turns into bone. This is yet
another example of defect augmentation, in this case not in order to
create a base for an implant, but to treat a tooth.