Announcement of the 2009 Paffenbarger Student Research Fellowship Award
Dr Savitri Vaseenon, originally from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, and currently a graduate student in Operative Dentistry at the University of Iowa, is the 2009 recipient of the George C Paffenbarger Student Research Award.
“Bow” Vaseenon, DDS received the awarded for her excellent proposal, “Relationship between caries-affected dentin mineral density and microtensile bond strength.” Dr Vaseenon will pursue her project under the guidance of Dr Steven Armstrong.
Dr Vaseenon's research interest is in the field of adhesion between caries-affected dentin (CAD) and resin-based composite. Since CAD is the most common substrate presented to restorative dentistry, it is critical that a better understanding of its physical properties and mechanism of adhesion for the advancement of minimally invasive restorative dentistry be acquired.
Synopsis
It has been shown that the bond between CAD and adhesive materials is not as strong as that with normal teeth and, hence, this reduced bond integrity leads to premature failure of the restoration. This problem remains unsolved and has raised interest in studies comparing the strength of the bond between CAD and tooth-colored material using different bonding strategies. Since there have been no studies measuring the mineral density of CAD at the resin dentin interface, the purpose of my research is to determine the relationship between its microtensile bond strength and mineral density.
Mineral density measurements will be performed using microcomputed tomography.
Understanding this substrate is critical to improving clinical success and the advancement of minimally invasive dentistry for the benefit of our patients.