A new research group centered at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Technische Universität (TU) Berlin, the interdisciplinary ‘InterDent’ research group, aims to gain understating of how dental restorations can be made to last longer through materials science. The group is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and will receive initial funding of €2.1 million over three years.
The group plans to address this topic by utilizing approaches from both materials science and dentistry. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the composition and structure of the material-tissue interfaces and the stresses exerted on them. Restorative dentistry uses synthetic biomaterials such as ceramics, alloys, and composites to restore damaged teeth. These materials must withstand heavy and repeated stresses to retain their ability to function for many years.
“The research group is organized into four sub-projects and one overarching, coordinating project, which serves as the basis for close interaction between experts from materials science and dentistry in different institutes. The purpose of this interdisciplinary collaboration is to identify key parameters which can be used to predict the risk of degradation and which are capable of implementation into clinical practice,” said Dr. Paul Zaslansky, project leader at Charité’s Institute of Dental, Oral and Maxillary Medicine.
To overcome the existing deficiencies and limitations of dental biomaterials, it will be necessary to use available resources and samples in a coordinated manner and raise a new generation of doctoral researchers integrating findings across all sub-projects. A key objective of the coordinating project is to create a culture of interdisciplinary collaboration – leading to a better understanding of dental interzones with the ultimate goal of improving dental treatment.
For more information: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
