What can be Wrong with Dentures?

May Human Remains be Used for Implants?

Dental and foot implants are often the product of human remains (allograft). This is potentially problematic on two halachic counts: issur hana’ah mimeis (the prohibition of benefiting from a corpse), and the mitzvah of kevurah (burying the dead).

However, the mitzvah of kevurah applies only to Jews, and, considering that Jews are a minority among the general population, it’s safe to assume that a random implant did not originate in a Jewish body. 

With regards to issur hana’ah, there are several opinions which temper the severity of the prohibition:

Some authorities maintain that this prohibition as well applies only to bodies of Jews (and we can therefore make the same assumption about the non-Jewish origins of the implant).

Others argue that in the case of non-Jewish remains, it’s only an issur miderabanan (rabbinic prohibition) and not an issur d’oraisa (biblical prohibition).

Even if we assume that the issur hana’ah applies equally to non-Jewish remains, some poskim are of the opinion that this issur doesn’t apply—or is only an issur miderabanan—where the benefit derived is shelo k’derech hana’ah (benefit not derived in the regular manner). It can be argued that using an item for medicinal purposes is considered shelo k’derech hana’ah.

As a rule, when faced with a medical need, there is room for relying on minority lenient opinions. There is similarly room to be lenient when the issur is only miderabanan. Therefore, in view of the above, if there is no other option, human implants may be used. Otherwise, it’s preferable to use bovine implants whenever possible. #457

https://halacha2go.com?number=457

Practical Halacha: One minute a day. By Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, Mara D'asra and member of the Badatz of Crown Heights.