28 April 2026

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Not All Bone Grafting Plugs Are Created Equal: Why OsteoGen™ Remains the Proven Choice for Socket Preservation

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The OsteoGen Plug® is the original and still the best clinically proven composite grafting plug

Like virtually every practice in the United States, you have experienced patients who have presented with teeth that need to be extracted due to any number of reasons. With each of these extractions, there is the opportunity to prevent an already catastrophic situation from getting worse. Socket preservation has been a recommended treatment at the time of extraction, yet many doctors do not routinely perform this procedure.

If you are already performing this type of procedure, you may be asking why someone would not do it? The answer has historically been easy: the procedure has required the use of a grafting particulate, some sort of barrier or membrane, and then sutures to hold everything in place. For some, this is too much.

In 2014, the OsteoGen Plug® was born, and with it a whole new way to preserve a socket entered the profession. It was simple, easy, and inexpensive. These plugs were so successful that around 2024 new grafting “plugs” emerged onto the marketplace. But be careful, as these plugs are not the same.

OsteoGen Plugs® are the only composite grafting plug that has Bioactive Crystal Technology (BCT). BCT describes the ability of the biomimetic OsteoGen™ crystals to actively influence the peri-defect area by providing Ca⁺, PO 4 and OH⁻ ions in the correct physiologic levels to positively influence the regeneration of bone in the socket.

The matrix of OsteoGen™ crystals and Type I bovine collagen prevents fibroblastic downgrowth at the top of the socket, thereby removing the need for a membrane or barrier in most cases. How can it get any easier than that?

Most of the new plugs on the market are markedly different. First, their mineral makeup is carbonated apatite, a form of hydroxyapatite (HA) created under higher temperatures that produces a specific type of mineral. Chemically, a carbonate group replaces the OH⁻, and the sintering makes for a dense material, like a ceramic. What does this mean? The graft material will take longer to break down and increases the possibility of encapsulation rather than complete resorption. If it does resorb, according to the manufacturer, it takes more than 6 months to be ready for an implant. Contrast this with an OsteoGen Plug® which allows for implant placement in 4–6 months. With these carbonated plugs, it is also recommended that a membrane be used if primary closure cannot be obtained.

Sintering makes for a very dense material that is more difficult to visualize radiographically, unlike OsteoGen™, which is radiolucent upon placement, with the grafted area becoming radiopaque once new bone has formed.

OsteoGen Plugs® are designed to be trimmed to fit sockets with multiple roots, and unlike the other plugs, they do not fall apart or become “gooey” when hydrated. Considering the many alternatives with carbonated apatite plugs, the choice is clear: the original OsteoGen Plug®, with over 2.5 million placements, has a proven track record that speaks for itself.

Source: https://www.osteogen.com/OsteoGen-Plugs-p/op.htm?utm_source=dentistry-today&utm_medium=newsletter-image&utm_content=plug-image&utm_campaign=l360-osteogen-apr-sept