New autogenous tooth transplantation model—using 3D printing to assist with dental autotransplantation

Source: Taipei Medical University Hospital

Published on 2020-07-06

The Taipei Medical University Hospital is using 3D printing technology to help assist autogenous tooth transplantation.

Prior to the transplantation surgery, a model of the tooth to be translated (called the donor tooth) can be made with 3D printing, and based on the shape of the model, the transplantation site on the alveolar bone can be trimmed to the correct size before the donor tooth is extracted and transplanted. This greatly reduces the time the donor tooth spends outside the oral cavity, saving precious time during the surgery and improves on the quality of the prognosis.

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Traditional autogenous tooth transplantation is to first fully remove the donor tooth, and trim the alveolar bone at the transplantation site based on the shape of the donor tooth, so that the shape of the bone is similar to the shape of the root of the tooth, before the donor tooth is transplanted and fixed in place. Due to the varying shapes of each tooth, the trimming can only be performed during the surgery, which invariably increases the amount of time the donor tooth spends exposed to the outside environment, which affects the success rate of dental autotransplantation. The longer the donor tooth spends outside the oral cavity, the easier it is to damage the nerves in the tooth. According to statistics, the golden window for transplantation is within 30 minutes of removal. The length of the transplantation surgery has significant impact on the prognosis of the surgery.

To reduce the waiting time of trimming of the alveolar bone after the donor tooth is extracted, TMU Hospital and TMU College of Oral Medicine collaborated on a R&D effort, where the newest 3D printing technology was used. Prior to the autotransplantation surgery, tomography is used to obtain the shape of the donor tooth, and 3D printing technology to generate a 1:1 ratio model of the donor tooth. During the surgery, the donor tooth is not extracted first; instead the model is used at the transplantation to trim the shape, until the site is the proper size before the donor tooth is extracted and transplanted. This greatly reduces the time the donor tooth spends outside the oral cavity. From the extraction of the donor tooth to the completion of the surgery, the process can be completed within three minutes.
The use of 3D printing technology can not only reduce the time donor tooth spend exposed to the outside environment, but can also reduce the wear and tear on the surface of the tooth root that occurs during the trimming and repeated testing of the match between the donor tooth and the transplantation site. This allows a greater degree of completeness of the tooth root surface, which is of great help to the stability of autogenous tooth transplantation, and reduces the likelihood of sequela.

Prior to the transplantation surgery, tomography is used to obtain the shape of the donor tooth, and 3D printing technology is used to generate a 1:1 donor tooth model

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