Study co-authors Subhashis Ghosh, Jake Jinkun Chen, and Siddhartha Das
Researchers from the Tufts University School of Dentistry and School of Medicine in the United States have created innovative dental implants that grow into the gums and integrate with the nerves, mimicking all functions of real teeth.
These implants also do not require complicated installation procedure and do not need bone drilling. Artificial teeth have a biodegradable outer layer containing stem cells and an unusual protein that activates maturation of cells into nervous tissue.
«Real teeth are connected to the jawbone by soft tissue rich in nerves that help us feel pressure and texture, and control how we chew and speak», — explains Professor of Periodontology Jake Jinkun Chen.
Conventional dental implants are ceramic crowns that are attached to the titanium screw-like posts to the jawbone. Although they are intended to replace lost real teeth for a long time, there is a high risk of injury, nerve damage, and rejection of the implant as a foreign body during the process.
Initially, innovative implants are much smaller than teeth. They have a layer of rubber nanofibers that expand as the biological outer layer decomposes. These nanofibers anchor the implant in the soft tissue lining the tooth socket rather than attaching it to the bone. Then the artificial tooth begins to grow, increasing in size.
In the process of growth, the implant integrates into the nervous tissues, establishing a connection directly with the brain. This allows it to respond to pressure, texture, and temperature in the same way, just like real teeth.
«This new implant and minimally invasive technique should help restore nerve connections, allowing it to «communicate» with the brain just like a real tooth. This breakthrough could also transform other types of bone implants, such as those used in hip replacements or fracture treatment», — emphasizes Prof. Chen.
So far, in the early stages of testing, the implants have been successfully demonstrated in rodents and functioned perfectly on par with real teeth 6 weeks after placement. The researchers will now study the rodents’ brain activity to assess sensory information — this will confirm how well the implant was able to integrate its new nerves into the signaling pathways. The next step will be to test the implant on large sets of teeth in animals, followed by human trials.
The results of the study are published in the journal Scientific Reports
Source: NewAtlas