Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
With respect to maxillofacial conditions, few procedures are more
challenging than the surgical repair of patients with craniomaxillofacial
deformities, not only because of the technical implications but also because
of the psychological ones. These deformities are usually the outcome of
trauma, cancer, infection, or congenital anomalies and involve both bone
and overlying soft tissue. Regardless of the etiology, it is a surgeon's task
to restore the functionality and correct the aesthetic defect. When treating
patients who have undergone tumour resection or suffered severe facial
trauma, both the surgeon and the patient must understand that the patient
will probably never function or appear as they did prior to their trauma or
tumour surgery (Keene, 1999).
one of the greatest challenges that exist today in oral and maxillofacial
surgery is the reconstruction with augmentation material of the cavities
and bone defects of the maxillae. The aesthetic and functional possibilities
that osteointegrated implants represent has led to an increased use of bone
augmentation procedures and to an increasing interest in bone regeneration
techniques and the use of a variety of osteoinductive materials to cope with
clinical conditions such as alveolar clefts, elevation of the sinus or the nasal
pit for the insertion of osteointegrated implants, apicectomies, cystectomies,
odontogenic or bone tumours excision, and to post-extraction alveolus,
pre-prosthesis and periodontally treated crest defects (Infante-Cossio
et al
.,
2007)
Materials destined for bone augmentation purposes should reinforce the
resistance of the maxilla, re-establish its continuity and provide support for
dental prostheses or osteointegrated implants. In addition, the bone regeneration
period should be shortened significantly. From the biological point of view,
bone autograft remains the best option in spite of its limitations. Although
nowadays there is a wide range of materials for this application, they lack
the osteoinductive potential that autograft possesses. Therefore, more work
on the development of new biomaterials, surface treatments and the design
of new biomolecules to induce bone formation must be done in order to
overcome the limitations of present materials.
An important procedure within the dentistry field is the restoration of
posterior teeth. Within this context,
efficient enamel-dentine adhesives
play an important role in modern dentistry. The development of
resin-based
materials has successfully substituted amalgams during the last decades.
Materials aimed at this type of restoration must endure a harsh environment
which varies from patient to patient. Mastication forces, occlusal habits,
abrasive foods, chemically active foods and liquids, temperature fluctuations,
humidity variation, bacterial byproducts and salivary enzymes are part of
uncontrollable factors that affect composite restoration durability (de Gee
at al
., 1996; Sarrett
et al
., 2000).
In spite of the numerous advances that composite science has achieved
