Grant: Project Grant

Root and recurrent dental caries are prevalent among adults and the elderly, especially amid disadvantaged groups of the Canadian population. Current materials to restore these lesions lack performance, fail prematurely within 2-5 years and require frequent replacement, at a cost of about $30B/annually in North America. This proposal "Restorative System for Cervical Lesions with Enhanced Biostability, Antidegradative and Antimicrobial Properties" aims to develop a novel restorative system (NRS) for cervical lesions, with enhanced biostability (more stable in the oral environment), antidegradative (reduce the body and microbial deleterious effects on the materials) and antimicrobial (reduce bacterial growth) properties. The system is not only conceived to resist degradation by salivary and bacterial enzymes, but will attenuate degradative processes that impact the restoration, tooth and restoration-tooth interface. The expected outcome of the proposed research is the generation of a novel restorative system (NRS) for cervical lesions with improved performance due to the enhanced biostability, antidegradative and antimicrobial properties. The intent is to make the materials more resistant to bacterial invasion and to enhance the structural integrity of the affected tooth, ultimately increasing the restoration's longevity and preservation of the tooth. Impact: The findings of this study will provide innovative new chemical components and a greater mechanistic understanding of the influence of the chemical structure of the material (monomer and filler) on the physical, biochemical and biological outcomes of biomaterials, conceived for use where bacterial containing environments yield significant challenges towards achieving a successful clinical impact for products. This approach to material design is comprehensive to address the needs of the dental health care community and Canadian society and will introduce new formulations of materials to the field of dentistry.