implants - international magazine of oral implantology

NEWS implants3_2012 ResearchersattheGermanUniversityofDuisburg-Es- sen and the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research in Düsseldorfexaminedtheteethoftwodifferentsharks, theshortfinmakoandthetigershark,intermsoftheir structure,compositionandmechanicalproperties.The teethofbothsharkswerefoundtohaveasimilarcrys- talline composition.According to the researchers,the interiorofsharkteethcontainsdentine,asoftermate- rialalsofoundinhumanteeth,whiletheenamelexte- riorishighlymineralised.Sharkteethcontainfluorap- atite,averyhardmineral,whichcouldleadtothecon- clusion that they are harder than human teeth,which containhydroxylapatite,asoftermineral,accordingto DrMatthiasEpple,ProfessorofInorganicChemistryat theuniversity. However, comparative analyses revealed that the hardnessofsharkteethandhumanteethwascompa- rable,bothfordentineandenamel.“Thisismainlydue tothemicro-andnano-structuresofourteeth,inwhich crystalsarehighlyorderedinaspecialtopologicalori- entation,”said Epple.The scientists are now continu- ingtheirresearchonothersharkspecies.Theyarehop- ing to recreate their dental structures for the produc- tionofdenturesinthefuture.Thestudywaspublished intheJuneissueoftheJournalofStructuralBiology. Tomorrow’s dentures Resemble Shark teeth According to a new Espicom market research report, Understanding Russia’s Regional Health Markets,the progress in improvement in Russia’s health system is slow. Urban areas, particularly Moscow are of a high quality,butprovisioninruralareasremainspoor. Russia is the largest country in the world,with a land areaofover17millionsquarekilometres,encompass- ing eleven time zones.It has an estimated population of 142.9 million. Delivering universal high quality healthservicesisachallenge. FundingisattheheartofRussia’shealthimprovement plans,andatthebeginningof2011obligatorymedical insurancecontributionsincreasedfrom3.1%to5.1%, deducible from salaries. This will raise an additional R460 billion (US$15.1 billion) over two years and will helpcoverthecostsofoverhauling,andequippinghos- pitals and polyclinics.The extra funds will also help to provideawiderrangeoffree-of-chargemedicalserv- ices.Withmeasurestoincreaseincome,however,has comethechallengeofdistributionandtherecognition that, in common with countries such as India and China,there is a yawning gap between well provided forcitiesandthemoreremoteregions. In 2010, the government introduced the idea of a re- gionalhealthcareservicesmodernisationschemethat aims to improve quality and availability of medical servicesandraisetheprofileofthemedicalprofession. The decision to implement the required changes was difficult,particularlyduringaperiodofeconomicpres- sure.Healthcaremodernisationiswelloverdue.Toput thisintocontext,over30%ofhospitalslackahotwa- ter supply, 8 % do not have a drinking water pipeline and9%lackdrainage. For further information on the report please visit www.espicom.com/rrmpr. Russian healthcare system Improving but in need of investments Italian Researchers have found that blood platelet biomaterial significantly improves the healing processafterplacementofdentalimplants.Inacase study,theyobservedbeneficialshort-andlong-term resultsafterthereplacementofafracturedcentralin- cisor. In the article, they present a new approach to improvingtheoutcomeofanteriorimplantsbyusing blood platelet concentrates.The paper reports on a case study of a 45-year-old female patient who had fracturedanincisorinasport-relatedaccident.Inan Italian private practice, the broken tooth was ex- tractedandanimplantinserted.Inaddition,abioma- terial of leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) wasused. Thescientistsobservedpositivehealingofthetissue two days after surgery.They found that the material acts as a bio-membrane that protects the implant fromtheoralenvironment.Itappearstostimulatethe growthofcellsandtoaccelerategingivalhealingand maturation.Aftersevendays,theyfoundthatthegin- gival aesthetic profile was well defined. At six months,theyreportedasatisfactoryfinalresultthat was still stable and aesthetic after two years. Ac- cording to the researchers, L-PRF is simple, inex- pensive and easy to prepare in only 15 minutes. Thus,itsuitsthepracticalneedsofdailyimplantden- tistry, in particular. Moreover, it is free of additives, suchasanticoagulant,asubstancethatpreventsthe clotting of blood, or chemicals for activation, they said. The project was conducted by researchers at the University of Geneva’s School of Dental Medicine, theStateUniversityofNewYorkatBuffalo’sDepart- mentofRestorativeDentistryandtheChonnamNa- tional University’s School of Dentistry in Gwangju, South Korea,in collaboration with two practitioners inItalyandIsrael.ThestudywaspublishedintheApril issueoftheJournalofOralImplantology. Healing after implant placement Stimulated by Biomaterials 48 I [PICTURE: ©STEPAN KAPL] [PICTURE: ©LAKHESIS] [PICTURE: ©ZIMMYTWS] [PICTURE: ©CHAMILLE WHITE]