Newswise — Cambridge, Mass., September 30, 2024 — The ADA Forsyth Institute (AFI) has received a $6.2 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). Funded by the highly competitive RM1 mechanism, this five-year award will support a pioneering project to develop next-generation smart materials for dental fillings using physics-based artificial intelligence (AI). This innovation marks one of the first applications of artificial intelligence for basic oral health research, with the aim of speeding up the testing and development process.
Next generation smart hardware
The new dental composite will have self-healing and antimicrobial properties, incorporating nanofillers that react to biological signals. “Imagine that a crack develops in the filler,” said biomaterials expert Jirun Sun, PhD, the contact principal investigator (PI) leading the multi-PI team.
“The hardware will detect this change and repair the crack. Or if your mouth has too much acid that lowers the pH, which is known to break down traditional composites and tooth structure, the material will neutralize the acid. The smart material will automatically respond to the changing conditions in each individual patient’s mouth.”
Interdisciplinary effort to maximize AI potential
The interdisciplinary team of scientists will integrate experiments with a physics-based test model and data-driven simulations as part of the design and material evaluation of these complex and dynamic materials. The AFI team collaborated with Optimuos, a digital engineering company specializing in digital twin technologies, to create the AI-based solution.
“Without this approach, the number of parameters we need to test would take decades to complete,” Dr Sun said. “Incorporating artificial intelligence and virtual lab simulations into the physical material development process, based on the well-defined laws of physics and chemistry, will accelerate our goal of transforming personalized dental care.”
Ben Wu, DDS, PhD, AFI’s Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer, highlighted the broader implications of the project. “This grant is the first step in leveraging artificial intelligence and deep learning to facilitate and accelerate research. This approach can be applied to the other innovative cutting-edge research at AFI, from drug-resistant biofilm management to aberrant host immune response and more. Our institute is well positioned to leverage the new tools of bioengineering, artificial intelligence and data science to accelerate discovery and impact oral health.”
Applications in Dentistry
The new material will be optimized to provide a viable replacement for amalgam, a cost-effective and durable solution that is being phased out around the world. Although alternative filling restorative materials are currently available, they may need to be replaced more frequently and may be more expensive to use. Scientists are designing these new materials to be easy to use and accessible to everyone.
“AFI scientists are not just creating something more durable, they are creating an entirely different generation of dental composites,” said Dr. Raymond Cohlmia, Executive Director of the American Dental Association (ADA) and chairman of the AFI board. “This smart material could revolutionize dental care and dramatically improve patient outcomes. The future of dental restorations – and so much more – is happening now. I’m so proud that AFI is at the forefront.”
Together with Dr. Sun in this exciting, multi-award PI are Drs. Felicitas Bidlack, Yulong Zhang, Xuesong He and Ben Wu from AFI. Dr. Leyla Mirmomen, CEO of Optimuos. and Dr. Pirouz Kavehpour, Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Chief Scientist at Optimuos.
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About the ADA Forsyth Institute
THE ADA Forsyth Institute founded in 1910 as the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children (later, Forsyth Institute), to provide dental care to the disadvantaged children of Boston. While continuing to serve children in need, but recognizing that the ultimate goal is the prevention of dental disease, the Institute in 1915 began to focus on scientific research and is today the world leader in oral health research. In October 2023, the Institute joined with the American Dental Association to form the ADA Forsyth Institute, a 501(c)(3) entity dedicated to improving people’s oral and overall health and strengthening the dental profession through basic research cutting edge. creative translational science, innovative clinical technologies and global public health outreach. In keeping with the Institute’s founding mission, the ADA ForsythKids mobile dental program continues to serve children in need.
