{"id":1052,"date":"2019-10-21T15:22:05","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T15:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=1052"},"modified":"2019-10-21T15:22:06","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T15:22:06","slug":"root-canal-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/root-canal-research\/","title":{"rendered":"ROOT CANAL RESEARCH"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Patients often\nask about whether there are any new technologies on the horizon, or currently\nin use, to help with different dental problems. There are many concepts being\ndeveloped that could revolutionize the way care is delivered. My favorites are\nthose that help prevent things, such as root canals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people\nhave felt the jolting sensation of a sharp pain in a tooth after drinking cold\nbeverages. A tooth is made up of tubules, microscopic channels that extend from\nthe inner layer of tooth called dentin, all the way to the center of the tooth\ncontaining the nerve. The sensation comes from the temperature travelling\nthrough open tubules, either from damaged dentin caused by decay or exposed dentin\nfrom recession of the gums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the\nsensation goes away in a split second the diagnosis is called reversible\npulpitis (inflammation in the nerve of the tooth).  If the pain lingers for more than a few\nseconds the diagnosis may be irreversible pulpitis and the treatment sometimes requires\na root canal procedure to remove the damaged nerve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research being\nconducted at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry could provide\ndentists with a much less invasive treatment for pulpitis. Researchers are developing\na new, patent-pending technique to deliver medication directly to the center of\na tooth. The technique uses strong magnetic fields to move microscopic\nparticles through the tooth’s dentin and into the pulp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research\nuses the tubules of the tooth as a vehicle to deliver medication that could\nreduce inflammation or treat infection. The technique would attach medication\nto nanoparticles. By creating the nanoparticles out of a magnetic substance,\nsuch as iron, the researchers can use a magnetic field to push those particles,\nand the attached medication, through the tubules and into the pulp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivering\nsteroid medication using these magnetic nanoparticles could treat inflammation\nin the pulp. An antibiotic could also be delivered to reduce the infection, or\na local anesthetic could be used to anesthetize a tooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research\nhas shown that, even though the nanoparticles are tiny, they are able to\ndeliver a large enough dose for medications to be effective. Studies are\ncurrently being conducted on extracted human teeth to determine the optimal\nsize for the nanoparticles and the most effective biocompatible coating. By\ncovering the particles with a biocompatible substance, starch for example, the\nbody’s immune system won’t attack the nanoparticles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dentists have\nbeen treating inflammation of the pulp the same way for a long time, which is\nto remove the pulp of the tooth. When the pulp of the tooth is removed, the\nspace the nerve occupied has to be filled with a material to prevent bacterial\ngrowth. Although effective, this devitalizes the tooth and comes with its own\nset of potential problems over time. These problems include a weakened tooth\nwith a higher potential for fracture, as well as a much higher risk for\nrecurrent infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new\nresearch is a possible contemporary solution to an age-old problem. By\ndelivering medication directly to the area of the tooth that gives the tooth\nits vitality, it could prevent the need for many root canals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair maintains\na private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered\nfamily dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about\nor questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patients often ask about whether there are any new technologies on the horizon, or currently in use, to help with different dental problems. There are many concepts being developed that could revolutionize the way care is delivered. My favorites are those that help prevent things, such as root canals.  Many people have felt the jolting sensation of a sharp pain in a tooth after drinking cold beverages. A tooth is made up of tubules, microscopic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1052"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1058,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1052\/revisions\/1058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}