With the new age diet, fast paced lifestyle and food habits there is an alarming increase in dental related problems, with the traditional form of treatment being Fillings, Root Canals, Extraction and Implants there is a new procedure in development which takes advantage of the latest 3D printing technology. Researchers in Netherlands have created a 3D printed tooth/Dental Implant by a stereolithography process which is said to be resistant and even destroy harmful bacteria in the oral cavity.
According to the researchers of University of Groningen, the resin or plastic used is made of antimicrobial Quaternary ammonium salts which are positively charged this makes them potent towards bacterial membranes which are negatively charged. This does not make them harmful to cells of out body.
With this research, the option of adding active chemical substances to polymers capable of 3D printing opens up a huge scope in the medical field in general or Implants and more so for Dental Implants. This research can be used in mass production of non-medical substances as well in the future making them not only sterile but also active antimicrobial agents in food packaging, children’s toys etc.
Researchers at University of Groningen tested the efficacy of the antimicrobial resin by introducing it to Streptococcus mutans which a common cause of tooth decay and found most commonly in oral cavity. Almost 99% of the bacteria was eliminated which is quite impressive and makes future of Dental Implants quite bright.
It has to be tested vigorously as the oral cavity is exposed to a lot of substances like mouth washes, tooth pastes many varieties of food substances etc which can affect the efficacy of the Resin and might hinder in its antimicrobial properties. There is a long way to go but the future on Antimicrobial Dental Implants looks promising.
Source: ScienceAlert.com
Research Publication: 3D-Printable Antimicrobial Resins
This is really an interesting approach to dental implants. As a dentist myself, I have always liked how new technologies have changed my profession. I will look forward to see, when 3D printed teeths will be widely available.
I’m glad to see a new kind of approach for treating oral health problems. Looking forward to the time when this 3D printed tooth/Dental Implant will be widely popular! Thank you for sharing this great news, Varun.
Hi. I I am a 37-year-old mom of three who unfortunately who hurt my back pretty bad when I fell off of my horse and broke my tailbone and pulled some discs way back when I was 15. I was LOADED up on painkillers(Percocet, oxycodone, morphine, oxycontin 80 mg, MS cotton and methadone. You name it and I was on it). To get off of the painkillers I was put on methadone which my teeth were destroyed. I know it’s not just the methadone but the amount of sugar intake too. Anyways I now have upper dentures and I am too young for that. I hate them. I can’t eat what I want. They’re constantly falling out and I am completely self-conscious about the way I look.. I want to get implants but I am scared of the cost. The dentures alone costs $10,000 And that was just. My dentist told me that implants for me would be over $20,000 at least and I can’t afford that right now. We just had a new baby and my husband lost 15% of his paycheck due to Kevin. I must stay at home Mom who is in school to be a psychiatrist. I also have a 14-year-old and an 8-year-old who I know are completely embarrassed of the fact that I have no teeth. Where are you located? My face looks completely different. I went from being pretty to being hideous because I now have a basic and underbite. I used to be the life of the party, taking as many pictures as possible and smiling so pretty in them but now I basically refuse to leave the house. I haven’t had a picture taken of me since I got the dentures probably 3 years ago.
Hi Ellie, sorry to hear about your accident. At the moment to get a full Implant supported Denture set you need to shell out more.
You can get Relining or Rebasing of your Denture to improve the retention of your denture for the time being till you can save some funds for getting Implant supported dentures.