Wuhan team develops silky solution for dentists

Chinese scientists have developed a new silk-based material for use in dental implants that may be able to replace expensive imported materials and reduce costs for patients.

After a tooth is pulled, a small hole is left behind that needs to be filled with bone meal before it is covered with a membrane to allow the alveolar bone to grow without interference. The new material, which is known as resorbable silk fibroin membrane, promotes bone recovery and helps prime the hole for an implant afterward.

The membrane currently used is mainly extracted from animal tissue, such as pigskin collagen. The new material made using silk offers better stability and biological security, and there is less possibility of causing infection, according to Ma Zhaocheng, associate professor at the College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences at Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, the main developer of the product.

"Existing membranes degrade too quickly, but this one can last two times longer, for up to four weeks, so it better supports recovery," Ma said, adding that the team has tested the new membrane in 132 clinical trials at top hospitals in Wuhan, Hubei province, and Beijing and that the results have been very promising.

The membrane became the first domestically-made implant silk fibroin medical device used in dental prosthesis approved by the National Medical Products Administration in October, breaking the dependence on foreign high-end dental implants.

In addition, the new membrane costs 1,000 yuan ($139), half the price of imported equivalents, which will help ease economic pressure on patients, Ma said.

"When I began research in 2008, there was a demand for 50,000 tooth implants every year, and in recent years, that figure has risen to 5 million. It's possible that this will grow at least 10 times in the future," he said. "As the population ages, good teeth are a guarantee of a quality life."

In a few months' time, the team will get a production license, and the membrane will go into mass production and be sold mainly to domestic and Asian-Pacific markets. They have sought cooperation with eight hospitals across the country, and according to Ma, the domestic market is expected to be worth up to 2 billion yuan.

Hubei CellaMatrix Biomaterial is expected to produce 100,000 resorbable silk fibroin membranes next year. Wu Lin, general manager of the company, told Changjiang Daily that it can also be used in tissue replacement and to heal wounds and bones.

Ma and partner Deng Hongbing, professor at the School of Resource and Environmental Sciences at Wuhan University, have been studying green applications in recent years for a variety of biomass, including cellulose, chitin and fibroin from wood, straw, shrimp and crab shells and silkworm cocoons.

Deng, who is also a co-developer of the membrane, told Changjiang Daily that in the future, he expects more innovative biomass products such as silk fibroin to be used in clinical work, and that the team will continue to work on technological breakthroughs.