Biological properties of materials
A group of studies have focused on the cytotoxicity of materials and procedures in Orthodontics. Conventional cytotoxicity assessment (MTT, DNA synthesis) involving human gingival or PDL fibroblasts and oestrogenicity using an in vitro model, [...]
Biomechanics
A number of studies examined the forces and moments developed during wire ligation with conventional and self-ligating brackets and force relaxation of polymeric elastics, employing custom-made configurations. These papers revealed that the direction of movement [...]
Clinical trials of materials’ performance
This group of reserch deals with in vivo assessment of failure rate of various bonding protocols and adhesives as well as effect of techniques or brackets on characteristics of treatment including duration and dental [...]
Orthodontically-induced enamel alterations
In orthodontics, bonding to enamel has been found to induce structural, color and compositional surface alterations on the host tissue. Microscopic, colorimetric and interfacial compositional studies have elucidated the phenomena associated with etching and [...]
Properties of orthodontic polymers
Adhesives in dentistry and especially orthodontics, provide the necessary retention of restorative materials or appliances to tooth structure. Bonding in orthodontic mainly involves Bis-GMA/TEGDMA-based polymers, applied on acid-treated enamel to provide micromechanical retention. Bond [...]
Research on orthodontic alloys
This research program utilized mechanical testing, metallographic etching, microhardness testing, SEM, and X-ray microtomography to reveal the surface and bulk morphology and structure of brackets of different composition and manufacturing process, i.e., laser-welding, metal-injection-molding (MIM) and [...]
Retrieval analysis: the inappropriateness of in vitro testing protocols
These studies dealt with the mechanical and physical properties of used biomaterials, using basically FT-IR, environmental SEM-EDS and mechanical testing (microhardness) to characterize the materials after service. The integument formed onto biomaterial surfaces after [...]
Surface characterization of biomaterials
These studies employed XPS, AFM, Auger spectroscopy and SEM-EDS to characterize the surface properties of alloys and single-crystal alumina and polycrystalline ceramics materials. The major differences between surface and bulk structures arise from the direct [...]
Tissue Mechanics
Hard (enamel, bone) and soft tissue (PDL, cartilage) mechanics is a field of fundamental importance for the understanding of the cascade of event accompanying the application of force on tooth crown. Complementary to mechanical [...]