Description:
Current State of the Art:
Tooth hypersensitivity affects 45 million adults in the United States and 10 million are chronically affected with sensitive teeth. Over time, the gums may recede or the enamel or dentin on the teeth may wear down, creating the condition for tooth sensitivity. In addition, cavities can destroy enamel creating a defect that often extends into the dentin or deeper.
Restorative dentistry, including dentin bonding, plays an important role in the field of dentistry in restoring the tooth tissue to its form, function esthetics and in maintaining the physiologic integrity in harmony with the surrounding hard and soft tissues. Dentin bonding is a unique form of tissue engineering in which a demineralized collagen matrix continuous with the underlying mineralized dentin is created by acid-etching or acidic self-etching adhesives and used as the scaffold for resin infiltration.
Disadvantages with the Current Art:
The most compelling problem associated with resin-dentin bonds is their limited durability, caused partially by water-sorption-induced hydrolysis of the hydrophilic resin components present in these adhesives, and partially by degeneration of collagen fibrils via endogenous matrix metalloproteinases derived from the demineralized dentin. Many of the restorative materials used currently do not adhere enamel to dentin by physical and / or clinical interactions thus increasing the chances of microleakage at restoration tooth interface. The production of a stable long-term bond to the tooth substance is an ideal requirement for the success of all restorations.
Advantages of Invention:
A biomimetic remineralization method using polyanions is available that incorporates non-classic crystallization pathways of fluidic amorphous nanoprecursors and mesoscopic transformation which has been successful in remineralizing resin-free, acid-etched dentin, with evidence of intrafibrillar and interfibrillar remineralization. Biomimetic remineralization could provide a means for remineralizing incompletely infiltrated resin-dentin interfaces created by etch and rinse adhesives.
The remineralization medium developed consists of a Portland cement/simulated body fluid that includes polyacrylic acid and polyvinylphosphonic acid biomimetic analogs for amorphous calcium phosphate dimension regulation and collagen targeting. Both interfibrillar and intrafibrillar apatites became readily discernible within the hybrid layers after 2-4 months. In addition, intra-resin apatite clusters were deposited within the porosities of the adhesive resin matrices. The biomimetic remineralization method demonstrates the use of nanotechnology as an alternative strategy, which could extend the longevity of resin-dentin bonds.
Patent Status: Patent Issued US 8,951,505
Publication: “Guided tissue remineralisation of partially demineralised human dentine.” Biomaterials 2008 Mar; 29(8): 1127-37. Epub 2007 Nov 19.
Inventors: Frankin Tay, Ph.D; David Pashley, DMD, Ph.D;
Case Number: GHSU2009-009