Millions of people in the United States choose dental implants to replace missing teeth every year, hoping to achieve natural, long-lasting results. However, traditional implants still cannot fully simulate the feel and function of natural teeth.
Researchers from the Tufts University School of Dentistry and School of Medicine recently published a study in the journal Scientific Reports, introducing a new “smart” dental implant and minimally invasive implant technology, which has achieved positive results in animal experiments. This research may make future dental implants closer to the experience of real teeth.
“Natural teeth are connected to the jawbone through nerve-rich soft tissue, which can sense pressure and texture to assist chewing and pronunciation.
Traditional dental implants lack this neural feedback mechanism.” said Professor Jake Jinkun Chen, senior author of the study and director of the Department of Oral Biology at the School of Dentistry.
Existing dental implants mostly use titanium metal columns that fuse directly with the jawbone to support ceramic crowns. The surrounding nerve tissue is usually cut or damaged during surgery.
The Tufts University research team designed a new implant with an innovative biodegradable coating on the outside.
The coating contains stem cells and a special protein that promotes nerve growth. After implantation, the coating gradually decomposes, releasing these components and promoting the formation of new nerve tissue.
At the same time, the coating is embedded with nano-rubber fibers similar to “memory foam”, which makes the implant smaller at the beginning and easier to implant, and then slowly expands to fit with the alveolar bone, reducing damage to the nerves.
“This method is not only expected to restore the sensory function of the implant, but also reduce the damage to the nerve tissue caused by surgery, which helps to achieve information communication between the implant and the brain,” Professor Chen pointed out.
This technology may also be extended to other types of implants, such as those used in hip replacements or fracture treatment.
In rat experiments, the researchers found that the implants were stable and had no inflammatory response after six weeks. Imaging results showed that there was a gap filled with soft tissue between the implant and the bone tissue, rather than the traditional bone fusion pattern. This may provide a better environment for the regeneration of peripheral nerves.
The project was jointly completed by Professor Qisheng Tu and Dr. Zoe Zhu of the School of Dentistry, and postdoctoral scholars Siddhartha Das (lead author) and Subhashis Ghosh of the School of Medicine.
Although the initial results are encouraging, the safety and effectiveness still need to be further verified in larger animal models before advancing to human clinical trials.
Next, the research team will conduct preclinical studies to explore whether the implant can truly restore the sensory function of the teeth, such as testing whether the new nerves can transmit signals to the brain. This groundbreaking research lays the foundation for the future development of dental implants with sensory functions.