Semi-occlusive CAD/CAM titanium mesh for guided bone regeneration: Preliminary clinical and histological results

Purpose: Guided bone regeneration is a widely used technique for the treatment of atrophic arches. A broad range of devices have been employed to achieve bone regeneration. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical and histological findings for a new titanium CAD/CAM device for guided bone regeneration, namely semi -occlusive titanium mesh. Materials and methods: Nine partially edentulous patients with vertical and/or horizontal bone defects underwent a guided bone regeneration procedure to enable implant placement. The device used as a barrier was a semi -occlusive CAD/CAM titanium mesh with a laser sintered microperforated scaffold with a pore size of 0.3 mm, grafted with autogenous and xenogeneic bone in a ratio of 8020. Eight months after guided bone regeneration, surgical and healing complications were evaluated and histological analyses of the regenerated bone were performed. Results: A total of 9 patients with 11 treated sites were enrolled. Two healing complications were recorded: one late exposure of the device and one early infection (18.18%). At 8 months, well structured new regenerated trabecular bone with marrow spaces was mostly present. The percentage of newly formed bone was 30.37% 4.64%, that of marrow spaces was 56.43% 4.62%, that of residual xenogeneic material was 12.16% 0.49% and that of residual autogenous bone chips was 1.02% 0.14%. Conclusion: Within the limitations of the present study, the results show that semi -occlusive titanium mesh could be used for vertical and horizontal ridge augmentation. Nevertheless, further follow-ups and clinical and histological studies are required.