Resistance of human dental hard tissues to erosive wear and caries
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Resistance of human dental hard tissues to erosive wear and caries (donation of human teeth)
IRAS ID
244641
Contact name
Paula Waterhouse
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle University Faculty of Medical Sciences
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Summary of Research:
Tooth wear is the destruction of enamel and dentine caused by a combination of acid erosion, abrasion and attrition. If initial wear is left to progress this can lead to pain and severe destruction of tooth structure and potential need for extensive dental work for rehabilitation. Tooth decay, also referred to as dental caries, is the destruction of enamel and dentine induced by presence of plaque, where the acid demineralisation leads to both breakdown of tooth structure and bacterial invasion. If initial caries lesions are left to progress this can lead to pain and even sepsis. Early identification, prevention and management of both diseases is needed to improve an individual’s overall opral health and avoid the need for extensive restorative dental treatment in later life.
This research is designated to improve our fundamental understanding of erosion and caries processes and establish foundational principals associated with preventive strategies using extracted human teeth.
Potential volunteers to donate teeth for this research will be patients who are having routine extractions of their teeth. Potential volunteers will be given written information about the process (see attached information sheet). If they are interested in taking part, fully informed written consent will be obtained, once any questions have been answered.
Once consent has been obtained the tooth/teeth will be extracted in the usual manner, anonymised, and transferred to the research team in accordance with the Human Tissue Act. The teeth will then be used for an in-vitro study. Once the project is completed the tooth samples will be disposed of in accordance with the Human Tissue Act.Summary of Findings:
A typical person's diet includes the consumption of acidic drinks such as orange juice. This contains citric acid, different products have different concentrations of citric acid and different pH. It is known that acid in the diet can damage teeth (this is commonly referred to as tooth erosion or erosive tooth wear).What was unknown, was whether pH or acid concentration has greater influence on the potential damage caused. Our study, immersed extracted human teeth in citric acid of different pH values and concentration and measured the changes that occurred on the tooth surface using new techniques. The study showed that a lower pH was a more critical factor contributing to erosion on tooth tissues, compared with alternating the concentration levels. The study also showed that these changes could occur after only 20s exposure to acid solutions.REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
19/WA/0054
Date of REC Opinion
22 Feb 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion