Method could aid dentistry

Engineering professor says bioengineering method could be applied to cracks in teeth

By: Amanda Robbins

Posted: 2/13/07

Methods used for bioengineering and by bioengineers at OSU are now being considered for dentistry in the future.

The "Kitagawa Takahashi diagrams" are a method that has been used for some time in engineering to help predict whether or not a tiny crack in an engine or structure is going to eventually cause catastrophic failure, said Jamie Kruzic, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at OSU.

The "Kitagawa Takahashi diagrams" are now being looked at as a way to help dentists predict whether or not a crack in the enamel of a patient's tooth needs attention.

A graph is put together to determine, based on the fracture length and the stress range, where the fatigue failure would be.

"This is not a new method, it is just a method that has never really been thought of for dentistry," Kruzic said.

There is a large gap between bioengineering and biomedicine, Kruzic said. People in one field do not understand the information from the other field, he said. This procedure aims to bring the two together.

"When we can tell a dentist exactly what type of tooth crack is most apt to get worse and needs preventive treatment, that could improve patient care and save money," Kruzic said.

In a recent article published in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Kruzic explains how this method could ultimately help dentistry.

"It may be possible to make quantitative evaluations of the risk of premature fatigue fractures in teeth," Kruzic said in his article.

This is not something that will happen overnight. A lot of research is still being done and it could take a while before seeing this method used in a dental office.

"This work still has a ways to go before we can make definitive predictions for medicine," Kruzic said. "But in theory it should work, and it will be an exciting advance."