Researchers to present first-ever reversible dental cement

CAO Group, Inc. (CAO) and University of Washington School of Dentistry (UW) researchers will present the first-ever reversible dental cement at the 2019 International Association for Dental Research Conference in Vancouver, B.C., June 19-22, 2019.

Because many dental procedures depend on cements to place dental prosthetics, clinicians have long sought a cement to bond and debond dental prosthetics on command with patients

“CAO has spent more than a decade researching and developing a cement that can bond dental prosthetics with light curing and be easily debonded using a diode laser system,” says Dr. Densen Cao, CEO of CAO. “While the debonding process can be as quick as 10-20 seconds, the integrity of the prosthetics and preps are not compromised.”

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UW researchers first tested the cement system using extracted teeth and orthodontic bands. Results reportedly showed orthodontic bands can be easily removed with minimal force after the cement is exposed to the diode laser. Residual cement is easily cleaned without damage to the bands or enamel surface.

“Reversible cement developed by CAO showed great promise for applications in restorative dentistry,” says Dr. Daniel Chan, chair of the UW’s Department of Restorative Dentistry. “The reversible cement can be used in many applications where cementation is needed. The prosthetics can be easily removed, and surfaces can be easily cleaned. It will facilitate and improve all clinical cementation procedures.”

Experts agree reversible cement could have very significant applications in orthodontics.

“The reversible cement could be considered for any of the cementation processes in orthodontics, including brackets, bands, fixed retainers, etc.,” says Dr. Greg Huang, chair of the UW’s Department of Orthodontics.

CAO leaders feel this is just the beginning.

“CAO’s mission is to develop products that will make clinical procedures easier, faster, and better for both clinicians and patients,” Cao says. “The reversible cement is a part of our continuing innovations to serve clinicians and patients. More clinical validation and regulatory clearance are planned in the coming months with the goal to have this revolutionary reversible cement system available to practitioners in partnership with AMD Lasers, Inc., in 2020.”