Treatment based on the use of osseointegrated implants to replace lost teeth has become the standard of care for restoring lost teeth worldwide. More than 12 million dental implants are installed annually. YesHowever, this treatment, which has been in use for many years and is widely used by doctors worldwide to improve the quality of life of patients, is not exempt from complications.
One of them is peri-implantitis, an infectious pathology affecting the tissues surrounding dental implants, characterized by progressive loss of the bone supporting the implants and leading to treatment failure. According to international studies, 13% to 28% of people with dental implants may suffer from peri-implantitis, which affects not only their oral health, but also their quality of life and self-esteem.
That’s all starting to change with a technology called SaffOss® Plus. Developed in the laboratories of the University of La Frontera, it is an antibacterial membrane capable of bone regeneration.It is specifically designed to combat peri-implantitis and may have various clinical uses.
Dr. All of this came about when an interdisciplinary team led by Victor Beltran formulated a scientific-technical solution based on some related findings from earlier projects.
“Then we developed a project, which was funded by the FONDEF IDEA project National Institute of Research and Development (ANID) of Ministry of CTCI, Sentence 2 years. This allowed us to obtain the necessary funding to pioneer a new prototype of a biomaterial with reproducible multi-layered membranes, For potential use in the regenerative treatment of peri-implantitis and guided bone regeneration among other applications, along with bone regeneration and antibacterial potential”. Beltrán de Ufro says.
Along with this, they started conducting pre-clinical trials that allowed them to develop the biomaterial and evaluate its biocompatibility and its physico-chemical capabilities in vitro.
Then, they tested the membrane’s biocompatibility and efficacy in an animal model and compared it to other biomaterials currently available on the market for clinical use. But without the properties of SaffOss® Plus.
“Both in preliminary experiments and in an animal model, we were able to verify the promising activities of this new biomaterial, and we also realized that it would have a wide range of applications in other medical procedures, including the need to regenerate bone tissue. For example, after resection of certain cysts/tumors affecting bone tissue and post-surgery where there is a high risk of infection.For example, in patients with certain comorbidities, they are more susceptible to infection,” summarizes Beltran.
This advance differs from the current treatment to address peri-implantitis, which – in general – presents persistent disadvantages, They involve high costs to the patient, multiple surgeries, and an uncertain prognosis of the clinical outcome to be achieved.
“Our development will allow a more predictable result, avoiding the use of bone grafts in some cases, because the membrane has the ability to regenerate bone and is antibacterial, which is key to avoiding post-operative infections. Procedures,” says the doctor. Víctor Beltrán, UFRO researcher and project leader. “This revolutionary technological advance not only marks a milestone in Chilean dentistry, but also opens new doors to other potential applications in regenerative medicine and improves the quality of life of people affected by this condition,” he says. Ufro.
In this case, the national leader Society of Oral Implantology of Chile, Dr. Louis Angel Antini, He describes this as an enormous contribution because peri-implant disease is on the rise in all parts of the world. So Dr. This research, led here by Victor Beltran, gives us a lot of hope, Because there are people who are very aggravated in their problems and so far the solution is very difficult.
The project, currently funded by the FONDEF IDEA program, is in the preliminary phase and is successfully completing experiments in an animal model. “We have carried out several tests and research phases that have allowed us to reach a conclusion Scalable technology. This is in addition to a US provisional patent application and trademark registration for the membrane. (SaffOss Plus),” says Program Director Beltran.
In addition, this initiative has already managed to generate interest in companies in Chile and the United States, which have supported the scale of the technology, so UFRO researchers are now seeking to advance to a clinical study to test the membrane and its clinical effectiveness. Eventually, in a few years, we will reach the international market with this product.
In this way, the director Innovation and Technological Change, Franklin Valdebenito Godoy, University of La Frontera The prototype achieved “has tremendous potential for technology transfer, considering that this UFRO technology has already been patented in the United States at a very early stage. All this allows us to think that this product can be quickly transferred not only in Chile, but also in the international market, which represents an enormous achievement for our university.
