Bone grafting to the jaws with special reference to reconstructive preprosthetic surgery. A historical review.

The first report on the transfer of fresh bone was in 1668 when van Meekeren described how a Russian surgeon had repaired a soldier's skull defect by implanting dog bone with good results. Discovery of the anesthetics, nitrous oxide and ether, in addition to the introduction of antisepsis opened up new surgical possibilities and made bone grafting a possible clinical procedure. Around the turn of the last century, papers began to appear on the restoration of continuity defects of the mandibula. In the future it will be possible to acquire a living graft in the exact size desired based on a 3D reconstruction of a CT scan of the defect.