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by Dr Bayan Habibi, Karrinyup Dental Centre, WA
XenoFlex is a composite bone grafting material containing 90 per cent bovine bone and 10 per cent type I collagen, which presents as xenograft—non-human, non-synthetic graft material—particles in a sponge-like matrix.
What’s good about it
Straumann XenoFlex demonstrates several favourable features that are useful in surgical practice. Due to its composite matrix, the xenograft particles provide osteoconductivity and long-term volume maintenance. The collagen supports space maintenance between particles and early wound healing in the first few weeks. The material comes in block shapes or in an easy-dispense syringe.
My main applications for Straumann XenoFlex are for socket preservation or in sinus lift procedures. The syringe format makes filling of multiple extraction defects or elevated sinus spaces very convenient and fast. As well as this, the composite matrix also prevents the scatter of particles through the surgical site and wound, which makes clean-up very easy.
In my clinical practice, XenoFlex has been an extremely predictable and effective product.
What’s not so good
Straumann XenoFlex is a xenograft material. All particulate xenograft materials demonstrate presence in the grafted site for decades thereafter with limited remodeling. There is some debate within the profession regarding the desirability of this outcome by comparison to the use of other graft types which fully resorb in time. This is not really a negative by my estimation, but the debate goes on.
