A Fast-Setting Moisture-Tolerant Root Canal Retrofilling and Repair Material

Summary

Dr. Shane White and colleagues have developed a class of novel low-cost root repair materials that are biocompatible, easy to set and manipulate, have good abrasion resistance, and good dissolution resistance.

Background

Root canal therapy and other dental repair procedures often require a material to repair and cap the root. This cap material is necessary to prevent the leakage of irritants which may ultimately cause failure of the root canal. Root capping materials must therefore have excellent leakage resistance. A significant challenge is finding a material that exhibits good leakage resistance while also exhibiting good biocompatibility, good durability, and short setting times. Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) is a widely used material due to its stability and biocompatibility. However, MTA has low abrasion and dissolution resistances and requires several hours to set. Other, resin-based materials have improved physical properties and fast light curability, but suffer from low biocompatibility. Calcium sulfate has a long history of use in dentistry due to its low cost and biocompatibility. However, calcium sulfate is relatively soluble and would be a poor material for moist environmental applications, such as root caps. The development of a technology that can provide the desired benefits without the drawbacks of current materials would allow for lower cost and lower maintenance endodontic therapy.

Innovation

Applications

Root repair and retrofilling material for endodontic therapy, including:

• Root end-filling
• Perforation repair
• Treatment of resorptive defects
• Treatment of vital exposed pulps
• Obturation of immature non-vital teeth

Advantages

Improved physical properties in dry and moist environments compared to commonly used MTA

• Good biocompatibility
• Possible promotion of osteogenesis in surrounding area
• Lower cost component materials compared to MTA
• Light curable and easy to manipulate

State Of Development

Prototype materials in this class have been fabricated. Testing and characterization of materials is underway.

Patent Status