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Prefabricated Blood Vessels May Improve Root Canal Therapy

Prefabricated Blood Vessels May Improve Root Canal Therapy Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a process that produces blood vessels in teeth. The finding holds promise for improving long term outcomes in root canal therapy because the

Prefabricated Blood Vessels May Improve Root Canal Therapy

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have developed a process that produces blood vessels in teeth. The finding holds promise for improving long-term outcomes in root canal therapy because the artificial blood vessels can help regenerate the tooth’s function, according to a paper published in Scientific Reports.  

The study, “A Novel Strategy to Engineer Pre-Vascularized Full-Length Dental Pulp-Like Tissue Constructs,” addressed the challenges associated with root canal procedures, in which the tooth’s blood and nerve supplies are cut off, negating its ability to mount a biological response or defense mechanism. Eventually, this can cause the tooth to become weak and vulnerable to fractures.   

Using a process inspired by three-dimensional printing, a team led by Luiz Bertassoni, DDS, PhD, placed a fiber mold constructed of sugar molecules across the root canal of an extracted human tooth and injected a gel-like material filled with dental pulp cells. Researchers removed the fiber to make a microchannel in the root canal and inserted endothelial cells isolated from the interior lining of blood vessels. Dentin-producing cells proliferated near the tooth walls and artificial blood vessels formed inside the tooth after 7 days. “This result proves that fabrication of artificial blood vessels can be a highly effective strategy for fully regenerating the function of teeth,” Bertassoni asserts. “We believe this finding may change the way root canal procedures are done in the future.”

Hygiene Connection E-Newsletter
July 2017

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