A 3D-printed osseointegrated combined jaw and dental implant prosthesis – a case study

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to present a new design in the area of basal osseointegrated implant (BOI) for oral and maxillofacial surgery using a patient-specific computer-aided design (CAD) and additive manufacturing (AM) approach. The BOI was designed and fabricated according to the patient’s specific requirement, of maxilla stabilisation and dental fixation, a capacity not currently available in conventional BOI. The combination of CAD and AM techniques provides a powerful approach for optimisation and realisation of the implant in a design which helps to minimise blood loss and surgery time, translating into better patient outcomes and reduced financial burdens on healthcare providers. Design/methodology/approach The current study integrates the capabilities of conventional medical imaging techniques, CAD and metal AM to realise the BOI. The patient’s anatomy was scanned using a 128-slice spiral computed tomography scanner into a standard Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) data output. The DICOM data are processed using MIMICS software to construct a digital representative patient model to aid the design process, and the final customised implant was designed using Creo software. The final, surgically implanted BOI was fabricated using direct metal laser sintering in titanium (Ti-64). Findings The current approach assisted us to design BOI customised to the patient’s unique anatomy to improve patient outcomes. The design realises a nerve relieving option and placement of porous structure at the required area based up on the analysis of patient bone structural data. Originality/value The novelty in this work is that developed BOI comprises a patient-specific design that allows for custom fabrication around the patients' nerves, provides structural support to the compromised maxilla and comprises a dual abutment design, with the capacity of supporting fixation of up to four teeth. Conventional BOIs are only available for a signal abutment capable of holding one or two teeth only. Given the customised nature of the design, the concept could easily be extended to explore a greater number of fixation abutments, abutment length/location, adjusted dental fixation size or greater levels of maxilla support. The study highlights the significance of CAD packages to construct patient-specific solution directly from medical imaging data, and the efficiency of metal AM to translate designs into a functional implant.