Research

No Cement, No Screws , Yes Memory Metal Retention – RodoMedical

To cement or to screw – that is the question. Not anymore, startup RODO Medical has added a new option. Reversible retention using a shape memory metal dental retention system which uses one or more compression plates made from various shape memory materials, e.g., nickel-titanium alloys such as Nitinol. By applying energy via heat or electrical energy, the memory metal elements change shape. To remove a crown, energy is applied via a wand and the memory metal retentive element shape

MIT NanoTech Team produces a Super Glue for Implants

An Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research team that may have found a way to make bone implants less likely to fail using a high-tech adhesive that more securely bonds implants to bone by promoting cell growth between natural and artificial body parts. In a study published in the June 26 online edition of Science Translational Medicine, the MIT team and its collaborators from several other institutions reported that the implant adhesive — a multilayered coating of ceramic and nanolayers

Metallic Glass developed for Dental Implants

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have developed a Palladium based glass that is an alloy of the noble metal palladium, a small fraction of silver, and a mixture of other metalloids—has shown itself in tests to have a combination of strength and toughness at a level that has not previously been seen in any other material. “Our study demonstrates for the first time that this class of materials, the metallic glasses, has the capacity to become the toughest

Tooth Regeneration Gel

A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or a thin, flexible film and placed next to a cavity, encourages cells inside teeth to regenerate in about a month, according to a new study in the journal ACS Nano. This technology is the first of its kind. The new gel or thin film could eliminate the need to fill painful cavities or drill deep into the root canal of an infected tooth. The gel or thin film contains a peptide

Titanium Foam developed for Dental Implants

Scientists at North Carolina State University have developed a new lightweight “metal foam” with elasticity similar to bone that could lead to a new generation of medical implants, likely overcoming a range of problems associated with devices currently in widespread use. “Our composite foam can be a perfect implant material to prevent stress shielding,” said Rabiei, the lead researcher. “This is because the modulus of our composite foam is matching perfectly with that of bone. That means when the implant

Why Oral Pain is Difficult to Locate Accurately

To see how the brain responds to pain emanating from different teeth, researchers led by Clemens Forster of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany used fMRI to monitor changes in activity when the upper tooth or the lower tooth was zapped. “At the beginning, we expected a good difference, but that was not the case,” Forster says. Because the same regions were active in both toothaches, the brain — and the person — couldn’t tell where the pain was coming

Brookhaven Lab and BioSET, Inc., Patent a Synthetic Peptide That Enhances Bone Growth

Brookhaven Science Associates, the company that operates and manages the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and Biosurface Engineering Technologies, Inc. (BioSET), have been issued a U.S. patent on a synthetic peptide, called B2A. B2A enhances the effects of a tissue growth factor known as bone morphogenetic protein 2, or BMP-2. BMPs are a family of proteins in the human body responsible for the proliferation, repair and differentiation of cells in many tissues, including bone. Tom Rouche, BioSET

All you ever wanted to know about Titanium

This interesting article about `Titanium uses in Industry` reveals some facts you may not have known about your favorite metal: It has an extremely low response to magnetism Its use in medicine also encompasses surgical instruments and those used in image-guided surgery and magnetic resonance imagery. It is the ninth most plentiful element present in the Earths crust. It has been found in meteorites and detected in the sun and class M stars. The Apollo 17 moon mission brought back

Transcription Factor found that Controls Ameloblast Function (Enamel Production)

Scientists at Oregon State University have found a gene involved in enamel production. In the latest research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team led by Chrissa Kioussi and Mark Leid bred mice that lacked a gene known as Ctip2. The gene, called Ctip2, is a “transcription factor” that was already known to have several functions – in immune response, and the development of skin and the nervous system. Scientists can now add tooth development to

AAE: Dental Implants Require Much More Follow-up Treatment than Root Canals

A study in the November issue of the Journal of Endodontics claims that dental implants require much more follow-up treatment than root canals, according to a study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Their study results reported that the success rate for the dental implants was 98.4 percent; for root canals it was 99.3 percent. However, 12.4 percent of the dental implants required additional interventions, compared with 1.4 percent of the root canals. “Considering these results in