β-pyrophosphate : a potential biomaterial for dental applications
Abstract
Tooth hypersensitivity is a growing problem affecting both the young and ageing population worldwide. Since an effective and permanent solution is not yet available, we propose a new methodology for the restoration of dental enamel using femtosecond lasers and novel calcium phosphate biomaterials. During this procedure the irradiated mineral transforms into a densified layer of acid resistant iron doped β-pyrophosphate, bonded with the surface of eroded enamel. Our aim therefore is to evaluate this densified mineral as a potential replacement material for dental hard tissue. To this end, we have tested the hardness of β-pyrophosphate pellets (sintered at 1000 °C) and its mineral precursor (brushite), the wear rate during simulated tooth-brushing trials and the cytocompatibility of these minerals in powder form. It was found that the hardness of the β-pyrophosphate pellets is comparable with that of dental enamel and significantly higher than dentine while, the brushing trials prove that the wear rate of β-pyrophosphate is much slower than that of natural enamel. Finally, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests suggest that iron doped β-pyrophosphate is cytocompatible and therefore could be used in dental applications. Taken together and with the previously reported results on laser irradiation of these materials we conclude that iron doped β-pyrophosphate may be a promising material for restoring acid eroded and worn enamel.
Citation
Anastasiou , A D , Strafford , S , Posada-Estefan , O , Thomson , C L , Hussaein , S A , Edwards , T J , Malinowski , M , Hondow , N , Metzger , N K , Brown , C T A , Routledge , M N , Brown , A P , Duggal , M S & Jha , A 2017 , ' β-pyrophosphate : a potential biomaterial for dental applications ' , Materials Science and Engineering: B , vol. 75 , pp. 885-894 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2017.02.116
Publication
Materials Science and Engineering: B
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0928-4931Type
Journal article
Description
The authors acknowledge support from the sponsors of this work; the EPSRC LUMIN (EP/K020234/1) and EU-Marie-Curie-IAPP LUSTRE (324538) projects.Collections
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