Dental News - Innovations in bone regeneration: An interview with Dr Matteo Chiapasco, Italy

Dr Matteo Chiapasco

Wed. 28. September 2022

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On 30 September, notable expert and prolific author in oral and maxillofacial surgery Dr Matteo Chiapasco will be presenting at the annual scientific meeting of the European Association for Osseointegration (EAO) in Geneva in Switzerland. Dr Chiapasco, who is an associate professor at the Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences at the University of Milan in Italy and visiting professor at Loma Linda University in California in the US, founded the Italian Academy of Osseointegration. He spoke with Dental Tribune International about his presentation.

Dr Chiapasco, how do you hope your presentation “The new technologies in bone regeneration, 3D bone grafts” will impact EAO attendees?
I think that attendees will be extremely interested to learn about the new developments in this fascinating field, in particular those related to CAD/CAM customised titanium meshes, which may truly simplify bone regeneration of complex 3D defects and shorten surgical time. Additionally, they will learn more about the bone regeneration techniques that are in development to allow implant placement in compromised edentulous sites, particularly in the case of complex 3D defects.

Are there any specific advances in the field or changes in procedure design that have caused you to take notice? What developments over the years have been most exciting, in your opinion?
I consider the most relevant developments in this field to be firstly a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to planning and treatment following the principle of prosthetically guided regeneration, secondly the increasing importance of the reconstruction of peri-implant soft tissue in atrophic sites, and finally the simplification of procedures with the patient rather than the procedure central to the clinical outcome.

As you have previously reviewed a number of techniques for various procedures in implant dentistry, where would you direct practitioners who would like to learn more about 3D bone grafts? What would you suggest as a good starting point—aside from attending your presentation, of course?
The best start would be attaining a deeper knowledge of surgical anatomy and the biological behaviour of the various grafting materials, including the pros and cons of each. Only after doing so can you follow with the technical details of different techniques.

In accordance with the theme of the EAO section “Innovations in regeneration”, what changes or improvements in bone regeneration technology do you foresee being developed or becoming more widely available within the coming years?
I think that research must be focused on two things: the development of new material to improve bone regeneration without the use of autogenous bone harvesting (provided that the efficacy is the same or better) and any procedure which will reduce morbidity and rehabilitation time.

Editorial note:

As part of the innovations in regeneration session, Dr Chiapasco will be holding his lecture, titled “New technologies in bone regeneration, 3D bone grafts” on Friday, 30 September at 11:15.