Individual Titanium Membranes: Digital Method For Alveolar Bone Augmentation

In order to achieve adequate functional and esthetic outcomes, an optimal 3D implant position has to be assured. In some cases, the residual bone width, height and ridge contour are not sufficient for optimal implant placement. The main disadvantage of prefabricated titanium scaffolds is the intraoperative and time-consuming manual 3-D trimming according to the individual defect size of the patient. CAD/CAM technology can be used to create individual product for each patient and take into account all the anatomical features of the defect area. There were 30 patients in the study. All patients had vertical or/and horizontal defects in the upper or lower jaw and were candidates for bone grafting procedure. Using DICOM files and open-sourse programs (ZBrush), the individual scaffols were designed and printed before the surgery. Using itterbium laser processing, a special antibacterial coating can be obtained on the membranes. Of the 30 defect regions to be augmented,11 were located in the maxilla and 19 in the mandible. In 5 cases out of 30, the membrane exposure were indicated. Thanks to the homogeneous structure of the membrane, in 4 cases out of 5 there was no need to remove the product and bone regeneration was successful. This method provides improved management to facilitate successful surgical augmentation of the jaw bones and provides sufficient quality to improve regeneration of bone defects. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects and benefits of individual titanium mebranes with laser-processing antibacterial coating.