A compound commonly-used to in add strength to car bumpers and to protect wooden decks may be the key to the creation of fillings that last twice as long.
Researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Dentistry in Portland have created a material using an additive called thiourethane, an organic chemical which will provide the resilience to enable dental fillings to be twice as resistant to breakages as their current counterparts.
Alongside this discovery, they have also come up with an adhesive using a type of polymer known as (meth)acrylamide, which is proving to be three times as strong as the ones currently available, together resulting in what the refers to as “more enduring dental restorations”.
Dr. Carmem Pfeifer, an associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry at the school and corresponding author of the studies, had this to say about the twin discoveries:
“Today’s dental restorations typically only last seven to ten years before they fail. They crack under the pressure of chewing, or have gaps form between the filling and the tooth, which allow bacteria to seep in and a new cavity to form. very time this happens, the tooth under the restorations becomes weaker and weaker, and what starts as a small cavity may end up with root canal damage, a lost tooth or even life-threatening infections,” she continued.
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