Emerging developments in the use of bioactive glass for reconstruction of craniofacial bone.

For decades, researchers have investigated the use of bioactive glasses as synthetic substitutes for bone grafts that can bond with bone, and recent discoveries have shown that their clinical performance in osteoplastic and reconstructive surgery has exceeded that of traditional synthetic materials. Craniofacial reconstructions with bioactive glass were associated with good functional and aesthetic results with no donor-site morbidity, and the material's unique ability to inhibit bacterial growth was advantageous when used in dead spaces that were chronically infected. Treatment of large defects in the head and neck with these multifunctional biomaterials is a suitable alternative to conventional methods.