On average 41,000 root canal therapies (RCT) are performed in America everyday, but only 72% are performed by general dentists. The remaining patients seek more skilled endodontists to ensure higher success rates. Tooth root canal treatment requires the cleaning, disinfecting, and filling of the root canal. However, commonly used endodontic sealers used to fill the root canal space have two main limitations: shrinkage, which results in detachment of filling materials from the root canal walls, soluble, and/or “washing-out” of endodontic sealers. Both shrinkage and washing-out of sealers can cause gap formation inside and between the filling material and root canal walls. This gap formation can result in microbial colonization and reinfection of tooth root canal space, which in turns can lead to the failure of the treatment. Poor quality root canal filling is responsible for 65% of endodontic failures.

The proposed innovation is an improved dental biomaterial used as an endodontic sealer that has a unique ability to expand instead of shrink. This would eliminate the cause of most endodontic failure.

High-impact Innovation: Our biomaterial would allow for a safer, easier, quicker, and more affordable procedure that can be performed by more providers to a wider range of patients. The reduction of the failure rate of endodontic treatments can promote public health by saving more teeth. Additionally, decreasing chairside time spent by clinicians and ease of application with minimum training are key success factors for the global commercialization of this root canal sealer.