Less pain for dental implants

The pain and high cost of dental implants could be a thing of the past as Queensland researchers test the use of artificial bone to replace missing teeth.

The four year Griffith University study, which has been granted a National Health and Medical Research Council Grant of more than $66,000, is being undertaken by PhD candidate and periodontist, Dr Jamil Alayan, from Griffith University’s School of Dentistry and Oral Health.

Dr Alayan and his team are using the latest tissue engineering technology to produce totally synthetic bone “scaffolds” that can be grafted into the patient’s jawbone. These will then provide a viable foundation within which to place titanium dental implants.

“Traditionally, people with missing teeth who have lost a lot of jawbone due to disease or trauma, would need to have these replaced with dental implants using their own bone.

“This bone is usually derived from their jaw, but occasionally it has to be derived from their hip or skull,” Dr Alayan explains.

“These procedures are often associated with significant pain, nerve damage and postoperative swelling, as well as extended time off work for the patient.”

According to Dr Alayan, by using artificial bone, researchers can instigate a “much less invasive” method of bone and tooth replacement.

“A big benefit for the patient is that the risks of complications using this method will be significantly lower because bone doesn’t need to be removed from elsewhere in the body. We also won’t have the problem of limited supply that we have when using the patient’s own bone,” he says.

In pre-clinical trials, Dr Alayan aims to trial the new technology on humans within the next two to three years.

Regarding the anticipated cost of treatment, he says this should be a “less costly” way of augmenting deficient jaw bone, with the saving expected to be passed onto the patient.

Growing old is marked by several changes, one of these being a loss of teeth; however, there are people who reach old age with all of their original teeth still intact.

A possible reason for the loss of teeth in old age is a weakening of the muscles and skin around the jaw which is due to a decrease in elasticity. This is responsible for the development of lines and wrinkles which is sometimes another aspect of growing older.