Rapid prototyping-assisted maxillofacial reconstruction

Abstract

Rapid prototyping (RP) technologies have found many uses in dentistry, and especially oral and maxillofacial surgery, due to its ability to promote product development while at the same time reducing cost and depositing a part of any degree of complexity theoretically. This paper provides an overview of RP technologies for maxillofacial reconstruction covering both fundamentals and applications of the technologies. Key fundamentals of RP technologies involving the history, characteristics, and principles are reviewed. A number of RP applications to the main fields of oral and maxillofacial surgery, including restoration of maxillofacial deformities and defects, reduction of functional bone tissues, correction of dento-maxillofacial deformities, and fabrication of maxillofacial prostheses, are discussed. The most remarkable challenges for development of RP-assisted maxillofacial surgery and promising solutions are also elaborated.

Key words::

• Biomaterials
• computer-aided design (CAD)
• imaging
• maxillofacial reconstruction
• rapid prototyping (RP)

Funding: This work was partially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Qinghai Province of China (Grant 2013-z-908), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 81300841) and a grant from Science and Technology Department of Hunan Province of China (Grant 2013SK5075).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.