Discovery could lead to stronger dental fillings … and less time at the dentist

SASKATOON – An international team of researchers used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan to discover how to create stronger dental fillings. This is great news for the estimated 96 per cent of Canadians who will have to contend with at least one cavity during their adult l ife.For the first time, an international group of researchers led by Professor Owen Addison from King ’s College London has been able to close a gap in the knowledge of photo-activated resin-based composites, commonly used in medical and dental applications.In a recent paper published inNature Communications, the team from Alberta, the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States described how they saw inside the resin matrix and gained insight into how filler particles interact with it during setting and influence the dental filling materials.“We’ve been working for a number of years using synchrotron-based techniques primarily to try and understand the evolving structure of the polymer network of the resin matrix that makes up these materials,” Addison said.As the Chair of Oral Rehabilitation of King ’s College London’s Faculty of Dentistry, Oral& Craniofacial Sciences and Adjunct Professor of Dentistry at the University of Alberta, Addison has been interested in understanding the structure of these materials in order to improve their performance.The team used a synchrotron technique that allows them to look at different resin chemistries and filler composi...
Source: Dental Technology Blog - Category: Dentistry Source Type: news