Research Development at Northeastern University - Dental Research Organizations

Northeastern University
Research
Research Development
Our mission is to serve as a proactive force in research stimulation at Northeastern University and to provide services that will result in an increase of federally supported research at Northeastern. This is accomplished by:
Ô Working with faculty to develop plans for projects
Ô Disseminating information on federal funding opportunities
Ô Facilitating contacts with funding agencies
Ô Assisting to process proposals for submission
Ô Identifying appropriate sources of funding
Ô Satisfying requests for information or for assistance in general project development
Engineering and Technology
Professor Seeks Better Method for Dental Implants
Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Sinan Muftu has been working on a private research contract to develop a dental implant that can be ready in less than the now-typical three to six months it takes to set, and to determine the best possible design.
Using computer modeling, Muftu and students John Jadodnik and Dincer Bozkaya have been studying the stiffness of the implants in relation to the pressure put on them through biting. They are searching for the optimum strength range for an implant. Those that are too soft never attach themselves properly to the jaw and those that are too stiff can cause jaw fractures, Muftu explains.
"The stiffness of titanium is 10 times higher than that of bone, so when you replace a natural tooth with titanium, you can risk overloading the bone," he says.
With this technique, the team is searching for greater design options for the shape and configuration of the implants, to offer ways of shifting the pressure on the bone, he said. They are also searching for a technique to accelerate the somewhat lengthy implant process, a quest Muftu likened to "the search for the Holy Grail" in dentistry.
His team discovered a new way of connecting the two key parts of the dental implant during initial research in 2001. The innovative connection method was the topic of journal articles in the Journal of Biomedicine and Journal of Biomedical Engineering.
Having just received three more years of private funding, the team is still studying "stress loading" on the implant and jaw, working toward a better understanding of what is healthy strain and what is too much. They are also studying the process by which the bone regrows around and into the implant, with the ultimate goal of finding a faster way to incorporate the device into a patient's jaw.
How is a Dental Implant Made?
1. The post or "abutment" is inserted into a hole in the jaw.
2. The small post, about 8 millimeters long and 5 millimeters in width, then sits in the hole for months until bone grows and adheres to the foreign object.
3. After the post is secure, a second connection is adhered to the abutment, and a tooth is then built around it.
Contact Information
Office of the Vice Provost for Research
Office of the Provost
112 Hayden Hall
Tel:(617) 373-4160
Fax:(617) 373-8589
E-mail: g.whitehouse@neu.edu
Division of Research Development
960 Renaissance Park
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115-5000
(617) 373-8770
(617) 373-8866 fax
E-mail: i.ebong@neu.edu
Division of Sponsored Project Administration
405 Lake Hall
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115-5000
(617) 373-5600
(617) 373-4595 fax
E-mail: l.perry@neu.edu
Division of Technology Transfer
960 Renaissance Park
Boston, MA 02115-5000
(617) 373-8810
(617) 373-8866 fax
E-mail: s.keyes@neu.edu
Division of Research Integrity
Ô Human subjects:
413 Lake Hall
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115-5000
(617) 373-4588
(617) 373-4595 fax
E-mail: n.regina@neu.edu
Ô Animal research:
21 Mugar Life Sciences Building
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115-5000
(617) 373-3955
(617) 373-3959 fax
E-mail: s.sullivan@neu.edu