Nanodiamonds In Teeth Could Help Patients With Osteonecrosis
October 8, 2013
These days, it is not uncommon to see pictures of celebrities with precious metals encrusted over their teeth as part of the next fashion trend. However, it seems that over the next few years, ordinary people may take advantage of this too; not because they want to be fashionable, but because scientists believe that diamonds in our teeth can promote good oral and overall health, the Daily Mail reported. Researchers at the UCLA School of Dentistry, along with the NanoCarbon Research Institute in Japan, have found that inserting nanodiamonds in one's teeth can be used to deliver proteins into the mouth, and could significantly help people with osteonecrosis. Osteonecrosis is a disease, which disrupts the normal blood flow to bones, resulting in bone loss. At its most advanced stages, the disease can also affect eating and speaking. The spherical diamonds are invisible to the human eye and could encourage bone growth, researchers believe. Moreover, nanodiamonds could promote dental implant durability. As bones age, implants become loose and uncomfortable, but thanks to the tiny gems, this process could be kept under control. The leader of the study was Dean Ho, professor of oral biology and medicine at the UCLA School of Dentistry. He commented that the method could be used to replace complicated and expensive bone surgery by administering bone morphogenic protein, which can help bone growth. Due to the specific properties of the nanodiamonds, these proteins are released more slowly, and thus the area is treated over a prolonged period of time for a better result, he added.