Composite Materials for Oral and Craniofacial Repair or Regeneration

Over the past decade, a wide range of degradable, partially degradable and non-degradable polymer based composites has been investigated to repair or to regenerate hard tissues in oral and craniofacial surgery. Patient tailored prostheses and scaffolds, designed and manufactured in the laboratory, involve the use of the Reverse Engineering applied to organs and hard tissues for defining, via Computer Aided Design, the customized prosthesis or scaffold. 3D imaging clinical tools like X-ray CT, MRI and Laser scanners provide the main data source for developing the digital model. This chapter focuses on implant designing, composite materials and engineering technologies, as well as future trends in the field. Recent advances in additive manufacturing technologies for direct production of implants avoids limitations related to the constraints in shape, size and internal structure. On the other hand, medical-grade Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK) filaments represent the future trends in cranioplasty, and carbon fibre reinforced PEEK filaments provide further mechanical enhancement.