Bone substitutes: an update.

Autograft is considered ideal for grafting procedures, providing osteoinductive growth factors, osteogenic cells, and an osteoconductive scaffold. Limitations, however, exist regarding donor site morbidity and graft availability. Allograft on the other hand, posses the risk of disease transmission. Synthetic graft substitutes lack osteoinductive or osteogenic properties. Composite grafts combine scaffolding properties with biological elements to stimulate cell proliferation and differentiation and eventually osteogenesis. We present here an overview of bone grafts and graft substitutes available for clinical applications.