Scanning acoustic microscopy investigation of frequency-dependent reflectance of acid- etched human dentin using homotopic measurements

Engineering peptide-polymer hybrids for targeted repair and protection of cervical lesions

By 2060, nearly 100 million people in the U.S. will be over age 65 years. One-third of these older adults will have root caries, and nearly 80% will have dental erosion. These conditions can cause pain and loss of tooth structure that interfere with eating, speaking, sleeping, and quality of life. Current treatments for root caries and dental erosion have produced unreliable results. For example, the glass-ionomer-cement or composite-resin restorations used to treat these lesions have annual failure rates of 44% and 17%, respectively. These limitations and the pressing need to treat these conditions in the aging population are driving a focus on microinvasive strategies, such as sealants and varnishes. Sealants can inhibit caries on coronal surfaces, but they are ineffective for root caries. For healthy, functionally independent elders, chlorhexidine varnish applied every 3 months inhibits root caries, but this bitter-tasting varnish stains the teeth. Fluoride gel inhibits root caries, but requires prescriptions and daily use, which may not be feasible for some older patients. Silver diamine fluoride can both arrest and inhibit root caries but stains the treated tooth surface black. The limitations of current approaches and high prevalence of root caries and dental erosion in the aging population create an urgent need for microinvasive therapies that can: (a) remineralize damaged dentin; (b) inhibit bacterial activity; and (c) provide durable protection for the root surface. Since cavitated and non-cavitated root lesions are difficult to distinguish, optimal approaches will treat both. This review will explore the multi-factorial elements that contribute to root surface lesions and discuss a multi-pronged strategy to both repair and protect root surfaces. The strategy integrates engineered peptides, novel polymer chemistry, multi-scale structure/property characterization and predictive modeling to develop a durable, microinvasive treatment for root surface lesions.

Characterization of dynamic process of carious and erosive demineralization - an overview

To review the analytical methods for carious and erosive demineralization an initial search of peer-reviewed scientific literature from the digital library database of PubMed/Medline indexed journals published up to early 2022 was carried out based on keywords relevant to the topic criteria including bibliographic citations from the papers to gather the most updated information. This current review aims to provide an updated overview of the advantages, limitations, and potential applications of direct and indirect research methods available for studying various dynamic stages of carious and erosive demineralization in enamel and dentin. This paper categorizes and describes the most suitable, frequently adopted and widely used quantitative and qualitative techniques in in vitro/in vivo research which are well-established, emerging, or comparatively novel techniques that are being explored for their potential validation.

Micromachining and validation of the scanning acoustic microscope spatial resolution and sensitivity calibration block for 20-230 MHz frequency range

Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) is used as a routine non-destructive test tool for different diagnostic examinations: detection of defects such as microcracks, delamination, disbonding, inclusions, subsurface features in materials such as pores and cracks. SAM can be operated in a wide frequency range from Megahertz to Gigahertz. SAM measurement spatial resolution is diffraction limited by the wavelength of the acoustic wave in particular medium and also depends on individual transducers geometry. Actual SAM spatial resolution can be determined by measuring calibrated lithographically formed microstructures in high acoustic impedance materials. Numerical acoustic signal simulation method, based on the diffraction approach, was employed for the selection of the calibration block pattern geometry and linear dimensions of the elements. Universal calibration block for SAM operating in a 20-230 MHz frequency range was micromachined in high acoustic impedance ceramic substrates. Differently spaced (from 18 to 185 µm) lines of the same width and different widths (from 17 to 113 µm) but similar spacing lines were imposed in alumina ceramics employing one step lithography process, i.e. femtosecond laser ablation. Proposed SAM calibration pattern linear dimensions were characterized employing optical and scanning electron microscopy. Finally the samples were measured with SAM employing different frequency transducers and results were compared with the numerical simulations. It was obtained that resolution of SAM operating with 230 MHz transducer is not worse than 40 µm.

Viscoelastic properties of collagen-adhesive composites under water-saturated and dry conditions

To investigate the time- and rate-dependent mechanical properties of collagen-adhesive composites, creep and monotonic experiments are performed under dry and wet conditions. The composites are prepared by infiltration of dentin adhesive into a demineralized bovine dentin. Experimental results show that for small stress level under dry conditions, both the composite and the neat adhesive have similar behavior. On the other hand, in wet conditions, the composites are significantly soft and weak compared to the neat adhesives. The behavior in the wet condition is found to be affected by the hydrophilicity of both the adhesive and the collagen. As the adhesive-collagen composites are a part of the complex construct that forms the adhesive-dentin interface, their presence will affect the overall performance of the restoration. We find that Kelvin-Voigt model with at least four elements is required to fit the creep compliance data, indicating that the adhesive-collagen composites are complex polymers with several characteristic time scales whose mechanical behavior will be significantly affected by loading rates and frequencies. Such mechanical properties have not been investigated widely for these types of materials. The derived model provides an additional advantage that it can be exploited to extract other viscoelastic properties which are, generally, time consuming to obtain experimentally. The calibrated model is utilized to obtain stress relaxation function, frequency-dependent storage and loss modulus, and rate-dependent elastic modulus.

Mechanical properties of methacrylate-based model dentin adhesives: effect of loading rate and moisture exposure

The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanical behavior of model methacrylate-based dentin adhesives under conditions that simulate the wet oral environment. A series of monotonic and creep experiments were performed on rectangular beam samples of dentin adhesive in three-point bending configuration under different moisture conditions. The monotonic test results show a significant effect of loading rate on the failure strength and the linear limit (yield point) of the stress-strain response. In addition, these tests show that the failure strength is low, and the failure occurs at a smaller deformation when the test is performed under continuously changing moisture conditions. The creep test results show that under constant moisture conditions, the model dentin adhesives can have a viscoelastic response under certain low loading levels. However, when the moisture conditions vary under the same low loading levels, the dentin adhesives have an anomalous creep response accompanied by large secondary creep and high strain accumulation.

Fast scanning mode and its realization in a scanning acoustic microscope

The scanning speed of the two-dimensional stage dominates the efficiency of mechanical scanning measurement systems. This paper focused on a detailed scanning time analysis of conventional raster and spiral scan modes and then proposed two fast alternative scanning modes. Performed on a self-developed scanning acoustic microscope (SAM), the measured images obtained by using the conventional scan mode and fast scan modes are compared. The total scanning time is reduced by 29% of the two proposed fast scan modes. It will offer a better solution for high speed scanning without sacrificing the system stability, and will not introduce additional difficulties to the configuration of scanning measurement systems. They can be easily applied to the mechanical scanning measuring systems with different driving actuators such as piezoelectric, linear motor, dc motor, and so on. The proposed fast raster and square spiral scan modes are realized in SAM, but not specially designed for it. Therefore, they have universal adaptability and can be applied to other scanning measurement systems with two-dimensional mechanical scanning stages, such as atomic force microscope or scanning tunneling microscope.

Durable bonds at the adhesive/dentin interface: an impossible mission or simply a moving target?

Composite restorations have higher failure rates, more recurrent caries and increased frequency of replacement as compared to dental amalgam. Penetration of bacterial enzymes, oral fluids, and bacteria into the crevices between the tooth and composite undermines the restoration and leads to recurrent decay and failure. The gingival margin of composite restora tions is particularly vulnerable to decay and at this margin, the adhesive and its seal to dentin provides the primary barrier between the prepared tooth and the environment. The intent of this article is to examine physico-chemical factors that affect the integrity and durability of the adhesive/dentin interfacial bond; and to explore how these factors act synergistically with mechanical forces to undermine the composite restoration. The article will examine the various avenues that have been pursued to address these problems and it will explore how alterations in material chemistry could address the detrimental impact of physico-chemical stresses on the bond formed at the adhesive/dentin interface.

Diagnostic ultrasound tooth imaging using fractional Fourier transform

An ultrasound contact imaging method is proposed to measure the enamel thickness in the human tooth. A delay-line transducer with a working frequency of 15 MHz is chosen to achieve a minimum resolvable distance of 400 μm in human enamel. To confirm the contact between the tooth and the transducer, a verification technique based on the phase shift upon reflection is used. Because of the high attenuation in human teeth, linear frequency-modulated chirp excitation and pulse compression are exploited to increase the penetration depth and improve the SNR. Preliminary measurements show that the enamel-dentin boundary creates numerous internal reflections, which cause the applied chirp signals to interfere arbitrarily. In this work, the fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) is employed for the first time in dental imaging to separate chirp signals overlapping in both time and frequency domains. The overlapped chirps are compressed using the FrFT and matched filter techniques. Micro-computed tomography is used for validation of the ultrasound measurements for both techniques. For a human molar, the thickness of the enamel layer is measured with an average error of 5.5% after compressing with the FrFT and 13.4% after compressing with the matched filter based on the average speed of sound in human teeth.