Tooth-on-a-chip will help you choose a filling

The so-called "tooth-on-a-chip" will help make dental care more personalized by giving dentists the opportunity to determine the most suitable materials for dental fillings based on data about the patient's own teeth and the oral microbiome.

The miniature system is a thin slice of a human molar placed between transparent rubber plates that are pierced with tiny channels.

The tooth-on-a-chip mimics a human tooth with a cavity that allows fluids and bacteria to move inside it. Scientists used a microscope to observe the interaction of the tooth with filling materials and bacteria.

Usually fillings are preserved for an average of five to seven years, and then they are destroyed. This is because clinicians cannot know what is happening at the border of the tooth and the filling. A tooth-on-a-chip will help you see changes in this zone in real time. With its help, in a few years dentists will be able to predict the interaction of the filling material with the tooth and choose the material that is best suited for a particular patient.

In this study, three common dental prosthetic materials showed a significant difference in cytotoxic effect on the dentin of the dental plate.

The chip will also help to study more deeply the process of formation of teeth and their reaction to all types of injuries and treatment.

Article by C.M.Franca et al. The tooth on-a-chip: a microphysiological model system mimicking the biologic interface of the tooth with biomaterials is published in the journal Lab On Chip.

Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on OHSU News: New ‘tooth-on-a-chip’ could lead to more personalized dentistry.