蘑菇tv Engineering, 蘑菇tvHSC School of Dentistry Collaboration Illustrates Benefit to Industry
August 30, 2024
Researchers Creating New Bonding Material for Braces
BATON ROUGE, LA 鈥� Each year, 9 million people in the U.S. get braces. Whether it鈥檚 to fix a bad bite or simply gain a more attractive smile, braces have almost become a rite of passage in Western culture. In an attempt to improve the effectiveness of bonding material used in braces, 蘑菇tv Health Sciences Center (蘑菇tvHSC) School of Dentistry-Prosthodontics is collaborating with 蘑菇tv鈥檚 College of Engineering on three projects led by 蘑菇tvHSC Digital Fabrication Center Director and 蘑菇tv Petroleum Engineering Assistant Professor of Research Charles Taylor.
Taylor is working alongside 蘑菇tvHSC School of Dentistry-Prosthodontics Department Head Karen Bruggers and 蘑菇tvHSC Department of Orthodontics Clinical/Product Development Consultant and ORMCO Research Advisor Mark Coreil, who was responsible for bringing this work to the table.
鈥淚t was Mark鈥檚 idea to bid on some projects,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淎 lot of these corporations are looking for testing capabilities at universities, and 蘑菇tv is able to service this work a lot faster in a much more cost-efficient manner than contract research labs.鈥�
Two of the three projects are sponsored by 蘑菇tvHSC School of Dentistry, while all three are sponsored by ORMCO Corporation, an orthodontics supply company based in California. The projects involve testing orthodontic re-bonding techniques, evaluating orthodontic treatment products, and testing novel orthodontic products using 蘑菇tv Engineering facilities.
鈥淭hese projects illustrate a cohesiveness of work across the 蘑菇tv system that utilizes the resources afforded by each to efficiently deliver industry needs,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hese projects show different campuses executing agreements with the sponsor and subawards/contracts extended to the other 蘑菇tv campus to complete the work. They are a great illustration of the use of the facilities within the 蘑菇tv system.鈥�
Taylor and his team used the 蘑菇tv Materials, Manufacturing, Testing, and Evaluation Facility (MMTEF) to test orthodontic re-bonding techniques and the 蘑菇tv Advanced Manufacturing and Machining Facility (AMMF) to create custom fixtures for the testing.
The second project entailed using the 蘑菇tv Shared Instrumentation Facility (SIF) and MMTEF to evaluate treatment products.
鈥淲hat ORMCO really liked about this project was that we were able to offload all the shared instrumentation facility work to 蘑菇tv SIF Director Dr. Dongmei Cao and hire her technicians outright,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭he turnaround was two and a half weeks, which blew ORMCO鈥檚 mind. We can call up MMTEF, and they have the machine ready the next week, so we walk in there and get our testing done in two days to expedite sample delivery to the 蘑菇tv SIF. This is very beneficial to companies. They are also in direct contact with Dr. Cao. At 蘑菇tv, once the contracts are in place, the work happens in the blink of an eye.鈥�
The team used the MMTEF on its latest project to test the novel orthodontic products and AMMF to machine custom fixtures for the testing. The Digital Fabrication Center (蘑菇tvHSC Cost Center) was used in all three projects to 3D print sample holders and scaffolds.
鈥淭hese capabilities provide immense value to this ortho company,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hey want to see how well they鈥檙e preserving the tooth surface and how effective their bracket bonding techniques are, and consequently, look at re-bonding in case the bracket breaks. 蘑菇tv has a really good ecosystem for this type of work, and we want people to know that we can do it.鈥�
Taylor says that 蘑菇tvHSC School of Dentistry-Prosthodontics is world-renowned for color matching and aesthetics, and 蘑菇tv is the last dental school in the country that has an in-house dental laboratory that can fabricate its own prosthetics.
鈥淲e can machine, mill, and fire crowns, dentures, and other prosthetics here,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the last dental school that has FDA-conformant facilities to do these things. We really want to do a lot more with 蘑菇tv鈥檚 College of Engineering, and these projects are the rubric for how we want to work going forward.鈥�
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