This document discusses the potential for nanotechnology to replace root canal therapy by regenerating dental pulp tissue. Researchers have developed a nano-sized film containing alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) that shows promise for reducing inflammation and increasing cell proliferation in dental pulp fibroblasts. In laboratory tests, the alpha-MSH combined with a polymer inhibited inflammation factors and induced proliferation of pulp fibroblasts. The nano-film could help revitalize damaged teeth and reduce the need for root canals by promoting regeneration of dental pulp tissue.

1. {
Nano-technology
in
Dentistry
Nanotechnology treatment for dentists to
replace root canal

2.  Millions of teeth are saved each year by root canal therapy.
Although current treatment modalities offer high levels of
success for many conditions, an ideal form of therapy might
consist of regenerative approaches in which diseased or
necrotic pulp tissues are removed and replaced with
healthy pulp tissue to revitalize teeth. Melanocortin
peptides (α-MSH) possess anti-inflammatory properties in
many acute and chronic inflammatory models. Our recent
studies have shown that α-MSH covalently coupled to
poly-l-glutamic acid (PGA-α-MSH) retains anti-
inflammatory properties on rat monocytes.

3.  This study aimed to define the effects of PGA-α-MSH on
dental pulp fibroblasts. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated
fibroblasts incubated with PGA-α-MSH showed an early
time-dependent inhibition of TNF-α, a late induction of IL-
10, and no effect on IL-8 secretion. However, in the absence
of LPS, PGA-α-MSH induced IL-8 secretion and proliferation
of pulp fibroblasts, whereas free α-MSH inhibited this
proliferation. Thus, PGA-α-MSH has potential effects in
promoting human pulp fibroblast adhesion and cell
proliferation. It can also reduce the inflammatory state of
LPS-stimulated pulp fibroblasts observed in gram-negative
bacterial infections.

5.  Scientists are reporting an advance toward the next big
treatment revolution in dentistry — the era in which root
canal therapy brings diseased teeth back to life, rather
than leaving a "non-vital" or dead tooth in the mouth. In
a report in the monthly journal ACS Nano, they describe
a first-of-its-kind, nano-sized dental film that shows
early promise for achieving this long-sought goal.

6. Dentists may use a special nano-sized film in the future to bring diseased teeth
back to life rather than remove them.
Nadia Benkirane-Jessel and colleagues note that root canal procedures
help prevent tooth loss in millions of people each year. During the
procedure, a dentist removes the painful, inflamed pulp, the soft tissue
inside the diseased or injured tooth that contains nerves and blood
vessels. Regenerative endodontics, the development and delivery of
tissues to replace diseased or damaged dental pulp, has the potential to
provide a revolutionary alternative to pulp removal.

8.  The scientists are reporting development of a multilayered,
nano-sized film — only 1/50,000th the thickness of a
human hair containing a substance that could help
regenerate dental pulp. Previous studies show that the
substance, called alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone,
or alpha-MSH, has anti-inflammatory properties. The
scientists showed in laboratory tests alpha-MSH combined
with a widely-used polymer produced a material that
fights inflammation in dental pulp fibroblasts. Fibroblasts
are the main type of cell found in dental pulp. Nano-films
containing alpha-MSH also increased the number of these
cells. This could help revitalize damaged teeth and reduce
the need for a root canal procedure, the scientists suggest

9. Source: American Chemical Society
By:Siamak Haqiqi