Risk of bacterial contamination of bone harvesting devices used for autogenous bone graft in implant surgery

BACKGROUND: Various instruments have been developed for collecting bone debris during intraoral autogenous bone graft procedures in implant surgery. The aim of this study was to quantitatively determine the degree of contamination in bone debris collected by different devices. METHODS: Twelve patients underwent autogenous bone collection using a bone chisel, bone scraper, trephine drill, and bone filter during bone augmentation surgery as a part of implant therapy, and the total bacterial count in bone debris collected by each was determined. RESULTS: Following anaerobic incubation, bacterial colony formation was found in all of the samples. The mean colony forming units (CFU)/g in samples collected by the trephine drill was found to be significantly lower than that of samples obtained with the other devices, while those values for samples collected by the bone scraper and bone filter was significantly higher as compared to the bone chisel and trephine drill. CONCLUSION: The bacterial levels may still carry the infection risk. Thus prophylactic antibiotic therapy maybe indicated when using bone particles for intraoral augmentation procedures.