Innovating Improved Dental Materials

Photo of UMKC Professor Yong Wang
School of Dentistry Professor Yong Wang is the principal investigator on this grant. Photo by Brandon Parigo, Strategic Marketing and Communications

School of Dentistry awarded $1.84 million NIH grant

The National Institutes of Health awarded the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry a five-year grant for more than $1.84 million to develop better tooth bonding.

Current dental bonding — at the average cost of $450 per tooth — doesn’t last as long as it should because it eventually breaks down, causing sensitivity, cavities and the need for repair. Studies—including at the UMKC School of Dentistry—have shown this is caused by ineffective bonding between resin and collagen, poor-quality resin and the degradation of collagen fibers.

“We will develop novel materials for robust, durable bonding to address all of the issues,” said Professor Yong Wang, principal investigator on the grant. “The approach is innovative since it represents the first systematic design with rationally engineered chemistry to simultaneously tackle all three critical challenges afflicting current bonding systems.”

Wang and the UMKC School of Dentistry are internationally recognized for applying new technologies in dentistry.

“With this grant award, Dr. Wang and his colleagues will be able to continue exploring innovative solutions to some of the practical challenges of clinical restorative dentistry,” said Marsha Pyle, dean of the UMKC School of Dentistry. “I congratulate him on his important work and this award.”

Zhonghua Peng, curator’s distinguished professor of chemistry, and Mary P. Walker, associate dean for research and graduate programs of dentistry, are co-investigators on this five-year grant.

 

UMKC faculty are experts in their fields and gain international attention for their research.

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