Hetal Desai’s PhD research project will be welcome news to those who dislike having cavities filled.
The second-year PhD student in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry is exploring a method to repair cavities without the need for a drill – typically used to remove decay from a tooth – by developing a low-viscosity resin with antimicrobial properties that would restore early carious lesions.
While there is currently a low-viscosity resin available that, when applied to the tooth’s surface, acts like a barrier to prevent further damage, the material doesn’t have antimicrobial properties. So, Desai hopes to use drug-loaded nanoparticles to levy antimicrobial properties onto this resin.