Quick-Set Endodontic Material

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Quick-Set Endodontic Material Additions are shown in this new font. This project is to develop a dental material that sets in about 15 minutes, and is suitable for use in surgical or non-surgical endodontic procedures. The material is intended to be an improvement on the present standard of care, ProRoot MTA material which suffers from clinical deficiencies of long setting times (hours), difficulty in placement and retention, lower than desired radiopacity, and inability to set under acid conditions. Clinicians have also been unaccepting of the high cost for ProRoot MTA, which is about 50 per gram, or about 10 to 20 per treatment. Besides being quick-setting and washout resistant, the new material will be a material that contains calcium, has a high pH, and will contain hydroxylapatite. The new material will be developed to exceed ProRoot MTA's radiopacity, ability to set in high pH environments found in some oral infections. The new material must be as bioactive as MTA, having a high pH and containing hydroxylapatite. Such a quick-setting material will make the clinical procedures shorter and more consistent, which will be of benefit to the patient and clinician, and enhance the probability for a positive outcome. The new material should promote regeneration of the periodontal ligament and cemental tissues that are injured by endodontic infections or removed during endodontic procedures. Such regeneration of tissues enhances the biological seal of the root canal system to reduce the possibility of re-infection, and enhance tooth retention. The research will use experimental designs to ensure the new material meets the ISO 6876 and ISO 9917 standards for root canal sealers and dental cements for radiopacity, setting and working times, solubility, dimensional stability, and strength. Washout testing should determine the stability for clinical use. Micro leakage testing will test the new material's suitability for endodontic use where low micro leakage is crucial. In vitro bioactivity will be tested by soaking prepared teeth in phosphate buffered saline solutions to observe the in situ precipitation of hydroxylapatite. The clinical handling and filling of roots and dentinal tubules will also be tested. Cytotoxicity tests with mouse embryonic cells will screen the biocompatibility test of the new material.) PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Quick-Set Endodontic Material Deletions in this revised document are indicated by strikethrough and additions are shown in this new font. A new endodontic material is to be developed to enable dentists performing root canal therapy to complete the procedures more quickly, with a material is superior to the present standard of care (ProRoot MTA material). The new material will: be quicker-setting (minutes not hours), be much more resistant to washout, set when an infection is present, be more opaque to x-rays, be anti- microbial, and be as bioactive as the standard of care material. All these qualities would enhance the procedures for the clinician and the patient, and improve the outcome for tooth retention after root canal treatment, or dental pulp healing. Tooth retention eliminates the need for other procedures such as extraction, implants, and prosthetic devices. Such a new material would be a new combination of features and an advantage for dental care when treating infected teeth, especially to be confident that the material will set and remain in situ.