FOR 2804: The Materials Science of Teeth in Function: Principles of Durable, Dynamic Dental Interphases

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When the clinical need arises, teeth are restored with non-resorbable biomaterials. This usually means that man-made dental materials need to operate for many years under harsh, cyclic loading conditions in the mouth. Initially, the dental surgeon removes pathologic/fractured tissue (e.g. caries) before placing fillings or crowns. To retain the restorations in place, intimate contacts must become established between the restorations and the remaining healthy tooth tissues. Good contact is achieved through formation of ‘interzones’, 3D sheet-like structures comprising intermediate layers with distinct micro-morphologies, compositions and properties. Despite a large range of polymer, ceramic and metal compounds, interzones in artificially constructed tooth restorations are never as good as their natural counterparts that are usually made of simple light organic and mineral components. The reasons for this discrepancy are poorly understood. As a result, dentists often overdesign or underutilize defect-tolerant materials. We propose that a deeper understanding of where and how interzone failure starts, and high resolution analysis of the underlying microstructures can pave the way to designing more durable interzones. Here we propose a research unit "InterDent" that will serve as a platform where materials scientists, engineers and dental clinicians intimately interact within six complementary projects. Whereas project 1 will address the properties and dynamics of chemical aging in dentine, project 2 will unravel the principles of the impressive shear fatigue resistance of the cemento-dentine-junction. Project 3 tries to learn from poor interzones between fillings and dentine, while attempting to benchmark predictors of caries near restorations. Project 4 examines the physical-chemical clues of biofilms attached to dental restorations. Project 5 focuses on the main classes of crown materials and cements to generate a large number of high-resolution simulations of different kinds of damage. Project 6 assesses the dynamics of restoration hardening in the confined space of root canal treatment. By transfer of know-how and data between interdisciplinary researchers, we will identify key parameters needed to predict degradation which we hope to feed back into the clinic. The unique setting of InterDent in Berlin combining advanced material science laboratories with dental clinicians is the ideal fertile soil for an inspiring cooperation leading to novel observations in the fields of InterDent. A major objective of the coordination project is to establish a culture of collaboration between the disciplines for the benefit of a better understanding of interzone phenomena and ultimately better dental treatment.