An allogeneic skin graft is derived from donated human skin. Grafts are used for a variety of soft tissue applications including gingival augmentation, visible root coverage, soft tissue ridge augmentation as well as to address soft tissue augmentation around dental implants. When a gingival graft is necessary, these grafts can be used to eliminate the need for an autograft.
Some acellular dermal allografts are processed using detergent and a sodium chloride solution, which removes the viable dermal cells as well as the epidermis while preserving the skin’s original dermal collagen matrix. By removing the cells, the likelihood of graft rejection or inflammation decreases. The tissue is disinfected with a solution consisting of detergents that have antiseptic and acidic reagents to ensure it passes the sterility standards as set forth by the United States Pharmacopeia Standard 71 (USP <71>). Once it is sterile, the tissue is freeze-dried, then cut to size and packaged using terminally sterilized materials. These acellular dermal allografts are available in a variety of sizes and thicknesses: These pieces of tissue just need to be rehydrated and they are ready to use.