A court in Germany has dismissed a request from Belgian dental implant software maker Materialise for an injunction against a Nobel Biocare software product, NobelGuide. Belgium software maker, Materialise had alleged the updated version of Nobel Biocare`s NobelGuide software infringed one of its patents, a spokesman for Nobel Biocare told Reuters on Wednesday. The Duesseldorf district court decided that the NobelGuide software does not infringe the Belgian company`s patent. The updated version had been introduced as a response to last year`s decision by the same court that found an infringement in the previous software version, Nobel Biocare said.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Dental Implant Industry

Canadian researchers at the NRC Industrial Materials Institute (NRC-IMI) in Boucherville, Quebec have developed a porous titanium foam implant said to mimic a metallic version of bone. The titanium foam is made by mixing titanium powder with a polymer, and then adding foaming agents that expand the polymer when heated. Later, through a high-temperature heat treatment, the polymer is removed and the titanium particles are consolidated to provide mechanical strength to the porous structure. Porous titanium had previously been used in orthopaedic applications, but never for dental implants - although its properties are ideal for this purpose. Louis-Philippe Lefebvre, a powder metallurgy researcher at NRC-IMI, added: `The rough surface creates friction between the implant and the bone, and also allows bone growth into the pores to help fix the implant in place.` Among its potential benefits, titanium foam could make dental implants less invasive. Lefebvre explained that in difficult cases, implantation requires a bone graft. He said: `With better friction, you can insert smaller implants into less bone so patients may not need bone graft surgery.`

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E-Mail This     Topic: Implant Surface

Canadian researchers at the University of Alberta have found the surface nanocrystallization of a metallic material is an effective approach for modifying the surface energy of metals. "Our results demonstrate that the combination of surface nanocrystallization and thermal oxidation treatment is a promising approach to suppress the formation of infectious biofilms on metallic materials, thus providing a surface technique to minimize bacterial biofilms on implant surfaces for improved orthodontic and orthopedic applications" says Li the lead researcher. This surface modification is promising not only for suppressing bacterial biofilms on medical implant materials but also has potential in treating materials for food processing and storage as well as for bio-corrosion control. Li points out that it is also possible to add additional elements into the nanocrystalline surface layer to further improve surfaces with anti-bacteria capability.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Research

3M ESPE`s digital dental impression system has been selected as a bronze award winner in the International Design Excellence Awards for 2008. This digital dental impression system captures continuous 3D video images to create precise 3D dental models. Intended for use by dentists and hygienists, it eliminates the discomfort of traditional methods and improves communication between patients and dentists by allowing immediate chair-side review. To create a digital impression, the dentist positions the wand in the patient`s mouth and glides the tip over the teeth to capture surface data. The 3D data is collected and reviewed in real-time on the display.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Instrument Design

A report by scientists from the Netherlands published in the FASEB Journal identifies a compound in human saliva that greatly speeds wound healing. Scientists found that Histatin, a small protein in saliva previously only believed to kill bacteria was responsible for the healing. Because saliva is a complex liquid with many components, the next step was to identify which component was responsible for wound healing. Using various techniques the researchers split the saliva into its individual components, tested each in their wound model, and finally determined that Histatin was responsible. "This study not only answers the biological question of why animals lick their wounds," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal, "it also explains why wounds in the mouth, like those of a tooth extraction, heal much faster than comparable wounds of the skin and bone. It also directs us to begin looking at saliva as a source for new drugs

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E-Mail This     Topic: Research

Dr. Jong-Ho Lee, a Korean dentist, has patented his design for a free-angled screwdriver and abutment. The system addresses the prosthetic problem of access screw hole placement. The free-angled driver consists of 2 to 3 sections connected using universal joints which allows the unrestricted rotation of the free-angled driver at any angle. The free-angled driver eliminates the need for a straight channel to access the abutment screw. The abutment screw can be screwed and unscrewed using the curved channel up to 30 degrees and 35Ncm.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Instrument Design

Michael Mastromarino, the leader of the body-snatching ring that plundered the corpse of broadcaster Alistair Cooke apologized to the victims as he was sentenced to 18-54 years in prison. "I am deeply sorry for all the emotional pain I have caused to donor families and donor recipients," he told the Brooklyn Supreme Court in New York. Mastromarino once ran a dental practice on New York`s Fifth Avenue specializing in dental implant surgery. But he was forced to surrender his dental liscence and go into drug rehabilitation after he allegedly abandoned a patient under general anesthetic and was found in his office bathroom with a hypodermic needle in his arm. At a hearing last month, Mastromarino apologized when confronted by angry victims - including a woman who had received stolen bone. Dayna Ryan told the court she was infected with Hepatitis B after receiving an implant of stolen bone in spinal surgery. "His sick, disgusting, appalling actions, all in the name of greed, have devastated my family," she said. Two other members of the body-snatching ring had already been sent to jail.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Bone Grafting

Novel processing of commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) has produced exceptional mechanical properties and recent clinical trials have proven its superior biocompatibility as well. CP Ti is desirable mainly for its superior biocompatibility, but suffers from low strength compared to either steel or alloyed titaniums. Severe plastic deformation (SPD) processing aims to get microstructural refinement to a level not achievable with traditional processing yielding nanocrystalline titanium. Fatigue life has nearly doubled and although damage tolerance suffered, the levels are still more than acceptable for medical devices. Mouse fibroblast cells were seeded to test biological compatibility, and the SPD-processed titanium showed significant improvements in cell occupancy rates, compared to conventionally processed CP Ti. Clinical trials of this material are progressing well using dental implants, where the higher strength has allowed for smaller implants to be fabricated, enabling surgeries that were previously limited by small spaces and insufficient bone to anchor the implant.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Research

Bioengineers and bioscientists at Rice University and Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands, have shown they can grow denser bone tissue by sprinkling stick-like nanoparticles throughout the porous material used to pattern the bone. To grow new bone, tissue engineers typically place bone cells on porous, biodegradable materials called scaffolds, which act as patterns. With the right chemical and physical cues, the cells can be coaxed into producing new bone. As the scaffold degrades, it is replaced by new bone. "Ideally, a scaffold should be highly porous, nontoxic and biodegradable, yet strong enough to bear the structural load of the bone that will eventually replace it," said lead researcher Antonios Mikos, Rice`s J.W. Cox Professor in Bioengineering, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the director of Rice`s Center for Excellence in Tissue Engineering. "Previous research has shown that carbon nanotubes give added strength to polymer scaffolds, but this is the first study to examine the performance of these materials in an animal model."

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E-Mail This     Topic: Research

SurgeryTec is a Netherlands based website that allows members to upload and share surgical technique videos and slideshows. The site has a majority of medical surgery related videos, but some oral surgery/implantology related surgeries are also included.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Education