Using My Extracted Teeth For Research
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Using My Extracted Teeth For Research
IRAS ID
176793
Contact name
Nicolas Martin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Department, Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Teeth in the mouth are subject to an ever-present range of processes that contribute to them wearing down and being damaged over time. Dentists can use a variety of methods to restore/mend teeth. However, the materials used to restore/mend teeth also 'wear' and breakdown, which reduces the length of time they can be kept in a person's mouth. These then need to be removed and replaced, this process can only happen a few times before this is no longer possible to restore the tooth.
Studying the performance of restored teeth (fixed with fillings and/or crowns) is key to ensuring an effective and long lasting result. Testing new or existing materials and different operative techniques in patients is difficult and ethically contentious. An essential initial stage is to test these systems in a laboratory prior to undertaking clinical investigations.
To address this problem we want to collect waste human teeth that would otherwise be discarded following extractions as part of normal patient care. This will allow us to safely test the effect of different materials and techniques on human teeth in the laboratory and identify their likely behaviour when used in patients. In doing so, we will be able to develop better methods for restoring damaged teeth an in this way create guidelines and protocols that can subsequently be tested in clinical studies.
We are asking volunteer patients if they are willing to donate their extracted teeth to be used for research, as they would otherwise be discarded as waste.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0236
Date of REC Opinion
12 May 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion