HONG KONG, China: Leading researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), Wuhan University (WHU), and the Peking University Shenzhen Hospital have recently found that a compound found in mussels helps increase the durability of a dental filling.
A dental filling has been used to restore tooth decay and broken teeth. The filling durability depends on the longevity and strength of the bond between the resin and the hard tissue of the tooth.
Mussels, small shellfish found in the marine environment, possesses special wet adhesion properties which have long been of interest to the scientific community. Thus, the interaction between mussel plaques and substrates under humid environments has been extensively studied for insights on potential clinical applications.
KangLi, lead author of the research, and colleagues revealed that the mussels' wet adhesive property is due to the amino acid Dopa, which they secrete. Based on the result, the team successfully applied n-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenethyl) methacrylamide, a mussel-derived compound, as a dental adhesive.
The team tested the durability of this resin-dentin interface versus the new DMA bond. The control group and those with distinct concentrations of DMA were gone through different tests, including thermocycling ageing, a process where dental materials are exposed to varying temperatures. The researchers then employed the nano-leakage evaluation method.
The team thus concluded that DMA could strengthen the resin-dentin bond and is believed to increase the longevity of a dental filling. Moreover, the cytotoxicity is also almost seen as equivalent to the resin monomers in traditional dental adhesives. These results are being considered promising for the future of dental filling treatments.
The research, titled 'Enhancing resin-dentin bond durability using a novel mussel-inspired monomer', has recently been published in Materials Today Bio.
