Question
I have a cracked tooth that is painful and needs to be extracted and replaced by a dental implant. The gap will need a bone graft done, which, as I understand, is a bone powder extracted from human bones that come from a bone and tissue bank. The bone graft melts away over time, allowing your own bone to grow in place.
Is this allowed in Islam? Is it permissible to have bone grafting done for a dental emergency?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
Yes. It is permissible to have such a procedure done if there is a pressing necessity in doing so. This relates to the legal maxim: necessity permits certain impermissible matters. [Ibn Nujaym, al-Ashbah wa al-Nazair]
Thus, if you will be in clear harm/difficulty without this procedure and there is no alternative solution, the above maxim will apply.
Bone Grafting
The bones used for bone grafting are either taken from the patient themselves: bone from one part is taken and used as a graft for another part; or from a cadaver.
If the bone samples are collected in the former method, the procedure is definitely permissible. If by the latter, it will be permitted due to the above maxim. However, note that if one can choose between the former and the latter, one must choose the former.
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani