Abstract
Craniomaxillofacial hard tissue reconstruction is necessary to restore tissue defects caused by natural postdental extraction bone resorption, trauma, tumor removal, or congenital abnormality. The use of autologous native tissue necessitates a second morbidity to the patient, especially when a large amount of native tissue is required to repair the defect.
The use of autologous tissue engineering techniques becomes a logical therapeutic consideration for the treatment of these patients. We have historically been aware that the bone marrow contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are a known precursor for bone formation. Advancements in harvesting and isolating MSCs, in bone promoter proteins, and in techniques for oral bone reconstruction, have led to the viability of implementing tissue engineering principles for the construction of the maxillary defect in place of large autogenous grafting.
The improved predictability of outcomes using tissue engineering principles and techniques has led to successful patient outcomes while limiting the morbidity of historical conventional surgical approaches.
In this chapter, we report and discuss the concepts and protocols for craniomaxillofacial hard tissue reconstruction with special emphasis on tissue engineering for the reconstruction of the atrophic and local maxillary defect.