Author's Reply.

We would like to thank Ajoy SM and Pushpa BN for appreciating our efforts and pointing out the deficiencies and giving valuable comments on the paper.12 However, we would like to clear few facts related to the paper and answer the queries.

As far as references are concerned, there has not been much literature on the use of decal bone as a bone graft substitute, after it was popularized by Tuli.3 The major highlight of our paper is the long duration of followup

As far as legal intricacies are involved, you are absolutely right that we should strive to maintain the stringent guidelines. Proper preoperative counseling and informed consent as regards the possible complications can be helpful in this regard. However, 0.6N HCL and Ethanol kills all bacteria, viruses and fungi

Regarding immunogenicity, we have cited the appropriate references. Our experiences have been similar to that of Goel et al.4 and Sethi et al.5 However, there can be some subclinical immune-related phenomena going on just because of the fact that the tissue is a foreign one. There are numerous papers on the immunogenicity of allogeneic bone. The correct assessment can be done only by histological studies of the grafted area, which for practical reasons is not a feasible option.

Financial support and sponsorship

Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.