Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
10.8
Postscript
Will a chapter on dental materials soon be obsolete?
In an article released on 4th August 2009 in Medicine News, Japanese scientists
announced that they have grown new teeth in mice. They pretend that their
bioengi-
neered tooth germ develops into a fully functioning tooth with sufficient hardness
for mastication and a functional responsiveness to mechanical stress in the maxillo-
facial region
.
7
Indeed, regenerative therapy was and still is the wet dream of many
scientists. It will definitely be the hot spot of clinical research in the twenty-first
century. What is then the answer to the question? When the steam engine became
perfect or the black and white or color films were perfect, we did not need them
anymore, one kind of an answer.
We are not that pessimist and our answer is 'no' because experience learns us
that many obstacles block the road before we will get germs for new teeth implanted.
The long discussion of amalgams is already justified and the introduction of poly-
mer composites is a natural exit imposed by the cons of amalgams. Shape memory
alloys do not need to be defended, phosphate cements on the contrary deserve more
comments. The practical use of calcium phosphate cements is very limited, though
potential applications are not to be excluded. The length of the contribution is justi-
fied by the active presence in all interphases between tissue and implants which are
aiming to conduct or promote bone growth. Beyond doubt that it will go on for a
while. A thirty-page long chapter is and cannot be a comprehensive text on dental
materials. The selected subjects and the length of the discussion devoted to them
were justified by - how else could it be - subjective criteria but they refer anyway
to active research fields and/or to historically interesting (important?) areas. The
reader will judge. When finally the topic will be nothing but history, biomaterials
will conserve a place in the collective memory of mankind.
7
Tokyo University of Science and Organ Technologies
Inc. Project leader: Takashi
Tsuji.
Homepage: http://www.tsuji-lab.com/.
