Abstract
The aim of the present paper is to give an up-to date on computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) additive techniques and synthetic polymers for bone reconstruction in the maxillofacial region. Additive manufacturing represents a promising field for future research in bone replacement/regeneration. However, standard guidelines for mimicking clinical environment with the different bone characteristics are strongly required. The rapid prototyping techniques, particularly, bioprinting allows the construct of 3D living functional tissues able to replace, in the near future, large defects caused by tumor excision, trauma, clefts or infections, limiting the autogenous bone graft requirement.
Keywords: synthetic polymers; bone graft; maxillofacial region; biomolecules; additive manufacturing