Page 573 - IJB-10-4

International

Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Novel patient-specific gingival soft-tissue

expander development for large bone defects
using silicone 3D-printing technology

Tzu-Huan Huang , Shao-Fu Huang , Lu-Yi Yu , Chun-Liang Lo ,
3
1,2
3
3
Yu-Ping Chang , and Chun-Li Lin *
3
1
1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
2 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Medical Device Innovation and Translation Center,
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan

Abstract

The current hydrogel self-inflating expander is limited by its volume and linear
expansion rate, making it unsuitable for correcting patient-specific large mandibular
bone defects in soft-tissue surgeries. This study devised a novel approach for
crafting patient-specific gingival tissue expanders for large mandibular bone defects
by employing silicone 3D-printing technology. The biocompatible and swellable
polymer tablet was compressed and placed into a 3D-printed silicone membrane to
evaluate its expansion capability. Two patient-specific large left and right mandibular
bone defects with complex geometries were selected to generate defect expander
models in a computer-aided design (CAD) software. The swellable tablets were
*Corresponding author: enveloped in the 3D-printed silicone membranes to form soft-tissue expanders,
Chun-Li Lin which were then immersed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 6 weeks to observe
(cllin2@nycu.edu.tw)
their expansion. Results demonstrated that a slot-shaped silicone soft-tissue tablet
Citation: Huang TH, Huang SF, attained an expansion volume of 1960 mm³. A fourth-degree polynomial fitting
Yu LY, Lo CL, Chang YP, Lin CL.
Novel patient-specific gingival curve illustrated slower expansion rates in the initial 2 weeks and achieved complete
soft-tissue expander development expansion in about 6 weeks. Patient-specific silicone expander testing indicated less
for large bone defects using than 2% error in the average expanded volumes of compared to CAD models. The
silicone 3D printing technology.
Int J Bioprint. 2024;10(4):2918. cross-sectional profile of the soft-tissue expanders closely resembled the CAD model.
doi: 10.36922/ijb.2918 This study demonstrated that biocompatible polymer could be utilized as swellable
Received: February 12, 2024 tablet material and enveloped within a 3D-printed silicone membrane to generate a
Accepted: April 4, 2024 novel soft-tissue expander that adhered to clinical standards. Additionally, the study
Published Online: May 10, 2024 validated the feasibility of expanding patient-specific silicone expanders within 6
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). weeks for repairing large left and right mandibular bone defects.
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution Keywords: Silicone 3D printing; Patient-specific; Soft-tissue expander;
License, permitting distribution, Bone defect; Swell
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Soft-tissue management after bone graft placement to achieve primary wound closure is
affiliations. a challenging procedure, such as dental alveolar bone augmentation of endosseous dental

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 565 doi: 10.36922/ijb.2918