Bone Morphogenic Protein

What is bone morphogenic protein?

Bone morphogenic protein is an isolated protein that induces specific cells in our body to form new cartilage and bone. During surgery, the BMP is soaked onto and binds with a collagen sponge. The sponge is then designed to resorb, or disappear, over time. As the sponge dissolves, the bone morphogenic protein is released, stimulating the cells to produce new bone. The BMP also goes away once it has completed its task of jump starting the normal bone healing process.

Since there is no need to harvest bone from the patients’ hip for BMP, recipients were spared donor site pain. Complications from the graft harvest site are also eliminated with the use of bone morphogenic protein.

BMP Has Many Clinical Applications

BMP can be used to aid bone grafting for dental implants. This includes onlay and inlay grafts, sinus lift procedures, ridge augmentation procedures and the closure of cleft palate defects. It can also assist in repair of bone defects created by removal of teeth, or small cysts and repair of fistulas between the sinus cavity and mouth.

Frequently Asked Questions About BMP

Is BMP safe? Yes. BMPis a protein that is synthesized by using recombinant human protein technologies and does not rely on a tissue donor.

Should BMP be used in all bone-grafting cases? Not always. In many cases, there is no need for BMP. However, in the majority of cases, application of BMP to the bone graft will increase the final amount of bone present, in addition to making the wound heal faster and more efficiently.

Will my insurance cover the costs? Unfortunately no.  The entire cost of this expensive technology is borne solely by the patient. The cost of purchasing BMP starts at approximately $1100.

Can BMP be used alone to stimulate bone formation? Yes. BMP stimulates your body’s own stem cells to create new bone.

Check with your surgeon to determine if BMP may be needed for your surgical case.

Dr. Hudson or Dr. Topper would be happy to discuss all grafting options with you at the time of consultation.