Completely-engineered, “bespoke” tissues like teeth and bones could be used to fix dental issues like missing or loose teeth, thanks to the development of 3D bioprinting in an Australian-first development.
The breakthrough comes as the result of a three-year study lead by Professor Saso Ivanovski, a peridontist from the Griffith University’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland.
Professor Ivanovski and his team are using the latest 3D bioprinting technology to produce new, totally personalised tissue, with the resulting “bone” and “gum” that can be implanted into a patient’s jawbone.
According to Professor Ivanovski, the process begins with a scan of the affected jaw. A computer-aided design program is then used to design the required replacement part.
“A specialised bioprinter, which is set at the correct physiological temperature (in order to avoid destroying cells and proteins) is then able to successfully fabricate the gum structures that have been lost to disease – bone, ligament and tooth cementum – in one single process,” he explained.
The bioprint is capable of printing the entire biological part, including the cells, the extracellular matrix and other components that make up the bone and gum tissue.
The nature of the bioprinting process is such that the bone and gum tissue can be manufactured to exactly fit the missing bone and gum for any particular individual.
This is certainly an improvement on the current approach, where patients who have missing teeth, or who have lost big parts of their jawbone due to disease or trauma would have to replace the missing parts with dental implants.
“However, in many cases there is not enough bone for dental implant placement, and bone grafts are usually taken from another part of the body, usually their jaw, but occasionally it has to be obtained from their hip or skull,” said Professor Ivanovski.
Having to salvage bone from other parts of the body can cause significant pain, nerve damage, swelling, and require the patients to take extended time off work.
Bioprinting promises to be a much less invasive, more sophisticated method. Because the tissue is all printed out, there is no need to remove bone from elsewhere in the body, reducing the risks of complication.
Additionally, it will be possible to print out as much tissue and bone as needed, without worrying about the limited supply of the patient’s own bone.
The technology is currently in pre-clinical trials, but human trials may start as soon as within one to two years.
The study has been granted a National Health and Medical Research Council Grant of $650,000.