A Customized Transmucosal Titanium Implant for a Cleft Palate Patient Using Layered Fabrication. A Clinical Case Study

Purpose: New manufacturing technologies such as additivemanufacturing (AM) make it possible to produce complex-three-dimensional shapes in a wide variety of materials. The aim is to use AM to develop a transmucosal implant for a cleft-palate patient that can repair both the bony defect and resolve the problem of the gap in the dentition of the upper arch. Method: A patient with a unilateral-cleft-palate was selected. A CT-image of the patient was taken and 3D-model of patients jaw was reconstructed using Mimics software 10 (Materialise Co., Ltd). The haptic technology was employed to design the implant. The file of the implant was transferred to a selective laser melting machine to produce the implant in cp-Ti. The implant was cleaned and sterilized and fitted to the patient using standard surgical procedures. Three months after healing, a new crown was fitted to the transmucosal part of the implant to complete the dental arch. The patient was reviewed at 6 months, 1 year and finally eight years Results: The patient was provided with a customized implant, which healed uneventfully. Three months after surgery the patient had the crown fitted to the transmucosal aspect of her implants, thus restoring the dental arch. After eight years the patient had experienced no adverse reaction to the treatment. Conclusions: Additive manufacturing has been used in order to produce a close-fitting customized implant for a cleft palate patient. The implant was successful in both closing the defect and simultaneously providing a solution to the prosthetic problem.