Report Details First 3D Printing for Periodontal Repair

Report Details First 3D Printing for Periodontal Repair

Dentistry and 3D printing have been courting each other for some time, with chairside restorations delivering lifelike, esthetic restorative solutions. Taking this technology up a notch, the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) have published a report on the first case of a 3D printed scaffold for periodontal tissue engineering in humans, along with oral and craniofacial tissue engineering. The report, “3D Printed Bioresorbable Scaffold for Periodontal Repair,” was published in the June issue of the Journal of Dental Research.

The paper details the first treatment of a large periodontal osseous defect with a 3D printed scaffold. The bioresorbable polymer scaffold and signaling growth factor was successful for 12 months, but eventually failed at 13 months. Though long-term success was not achieved, the team believes that such 3D printing approaches should be further investigated for reconstruction of dental and craniofacial anomalies, and that different classes of biomaterials should also be utilized for such renderings.

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter

July 2015