FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a dental composition used to prevent the spread of dental caries and the further development of caries in a tooth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dental caries or tooth decay is an irreversible infection, It is usually caused by bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp. Dental caries develop over a period of time where the organic matter of the tooth decays and the tissues progressively break down. Caries is one of the most common oral diseases in the world.

Traditionally, dentists clean the area of the decayed tooth and restore the "hole" using restorative materials like amalgam, composite resin, porcelain and gold, if the decay is mostly on the surface, the procedure is simple. But if the decay is deep in the tooth, the procedure can be traumatic to the patient. The traumatic procedure involves the use of local anesthesia so that the decay can be removed from the deepest and sensitive parts of the tooth.

The invention in this disclosure addresses this traumatic procedure and provides a method of simple and atraumatic treatment of dental caries. The object of this invention is to provide a means to atraumatically treat deep dental caries. The invention is the addition of silver fluoride releasing solution to glass ionomer cement (GiC) or resin-modified GIC (RMGIC). The stiver ions present in the dental material produce an antibacterial effect and prevents the spread of caries. It also stops the initiation of caries lesions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to produce a dental restorative material with antibacterial properties to atraumatically treat deep dental caries. In the one embodiment, the denta! restorative material is water settable glass ionomer cement in combination with an antibacterial agent such as silver fluoride and/or silver diamine fluoride. In another embodiment, the dental restorative material is resin-modified glass ionomer cement in combination with an antibacterial agent such as silver fluoride and/or silver diamine fluoride. The invention will be used as a dental liner or base. As the end use of the product is a liner or base, the material strength of the invention is not a limiting factor. The invention is intended to be used in deciduous teeth, but it may also be used in permanent teeth.

The present invention works such that the dentist does not remove all of carious dentine. The dentist removes most of the decay using the normal procedure, instead of traumatical!y cleaning the deeper areas of the decay, the dentist applies a small amount of the dental restorative material described here to the deepest part of the decay. The material is cured. The reminder of the cavity is filled using opaque composite and/or composite resin. Once placed in the cavity, the silver and fluoride ions present in the inventive dental composition will diffuse into cavity and silver ions wi!l inhibit the growth of bacteria present in the cavity.

A first formulation of a dental composition for use in treatment of dental carries comprises a powder component and liquid component, has one of the following general formulation details:

1. Powder Component

1 . Powder Component

The final formulation of one embodiment of the dental composition in accordance with this general formulation has the following details:

1 . Powder Component

The final formulation of another embodiment of the dental composition in accordance with this general formulation has the following details: 1. Powder Component

To test the effectiveness of specific formulations prepared in accordance with the formulation of the embodiment disclosed above, the following combinations were prepared and tested. Test results were evaluated in accordance with the following criteria:

1. Homogenous Mixture - The combination of the dental material and silver compound produces a homogenous mixture.

2. Consistency - The addition of the silver compound does not change the consistency of the dental material. The resulting mixture is viscous enough for handling

3. Color - The mixture is white in colour, preferably creamy white

4. Setting Time - The setting time of the mixture is less than 3 minutes. This allows enough time to mix and to place the mixture on the tooth, but at the same time it doesn't take too long to cure.

5. Curable - The mixture is light curable or dual curable. 6. Light Sensitivity - The mixture has minimal coior change when cured.

7. Antimicrobial Properties - (a) The mixture is able to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus easel, (b) Several concentrations of silver compound solutions were tested. There was no significant difference between 5-25% solutions of silver compound, A 5% solution was chosen, for the final formulation, because it's effective enough to inhibit the growth of bacteria and low enough to be non toxic (in terms of fluorosis)

The resuits were as follows:

1. Test Formulation A

4. Test Formulation D

sou on -

5. Test Formulation E

6. Test Formulation F

Titanium Dioxide (<5)

9. Test Formulation I 14. Test Formulation N

The present invention also pertains to a method of repairing dental carries using the dental composition disclosed herein. First, the dentist removes as much of the carious dentine as possible without using any traumatic procedures such as drilling. This leaves a void in the tooth being restored. A first amount of the present inventive dental composition is placed in a deep section of the void in one of two different means. First, a pin-head sized amount of the dental composition is placed within the void. Alternatively, a first amount of the inventive dental composition is painted into the void. The first amount of the dental composition is allowed to set. The reminder of the cavity is restored, using the standard method, with the use of composite, including a glass ionomer cement, resin modified g!ass ionomer cement, or dental composite.

While the present invention has been described in connection with a specific application, this application is exemplary in nature and is not intended to be limiting on the possible applications of this invention. It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated that the present disclosure is intended as an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated and described. The disclosure is intended to cover, by the appended claims, all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.