A 3-D image of a
tooth filled with nanodiamond-enhanced gutta percha,
and an individual
gutta percha point.
(October 16, 2015) UCLA
Dentistry research finds that the tiny particles strengthen the compound used
to fill teeth and ward off infection
People undergoing root canals may have gained a powerful, if
tiny, new ally. Researchers from the UCLA School of Dentistry have found that
using nanodiamonds to fortify a material used in the procedure could
significantly improve outcomes for patients.
A paper on their research is published in the current issue
of the peer-reviewed journal ACS Nano.
Nanodiamonds are tiny particles formed as byproducts of
diamond refining and mining. Thousands of times smaller than the width of a
human hair, they have been widely explored for use in dentistry, cancer
therapy, imaging and regenerative medicine, among other applications.
Each year, more than 15 million root canal procedures are
performed in the United States. Dentists’ goal is to save their patients’ teeth
from infected dental “pulp” — the part of the tooth that includes blood vessels
and nerve tissue. During a root canal, inflamed dental pulp is removed and the
empty space is then filled in with a polymer called gutta percha, which is used
in part because it does not react within the body. But some root canals don’t
entirely remove the infection, and residual infection after root canals can
lead to tooth loss.
In addition, traditional gutta percha has certain
shortcomings, including a limited capacity to ward off infection and
less-than-optimal rigidity.
To overcome those issues, the UCLA team developed and tested
two types of reinforced gutta percha: One strengthened with nanodiamonds and
another strengthened with nanodiamonds that had been pre-loaded with
antibiotics.