December 24, 2010
School of Dentistry, Kochi
 

In the recently concluded National Conference of the Indian Endodontic Society (IES) at Chennai, Dr. Sreedevi N. B., postgraduate scholar at Amrita School of Dentistry, won the first prize in the poster presentation category.
 

Her poster titled, BAG in Endodontics – Is it the future? drew attention to bioactive glass (BAG), a surface reactive biomaterial having various applications in the field of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics.
 

The inspiration for bioactive glass came in 1967, when Larry Hench, who eventually created it, was traveling by bus to a U.S. Army Conference on Materials Research. He sat next to an army colonel who recently returned from Vietnam. The colonel described the many amputations he witnessed while at war. He suggested to Larry that if there was a material that the body did not reject, many soldiers could keep their injured limbs.
 

This gave Larry the incentive to discover a material that could form a living bond with its host tissue. After just two years, he created the material, now known as bioactive glass.
 

The course of Larry Hench’s life was changed by just one conversation. That change led to a discovery, which in turn, changed the course of countless lives.
 

Today, bioactive glass is regarded as the most biocompatible material in the field of bone regeneration because of its bioactivity and osteoconductivity.
 

In dentistry, these features enable the material to be used for reconstruction of voids and defects of facial bones, in rehabilitation of the dentoalveolar complex and regeneration of periodontal bone support.
 

“Availability in nano and micrometric sizes makes its application apt in dentistry,” stated Dr. Sreedevi.
 

Her poster illustrated the material, composition and applications of bioactive glass.
 

It listed the following advantages of using this material.
• Biocompatible
• Nontoxic
• Does not shrink
• Chemically stable in biological environment
• No inflammatory response in overfill cases if used as obturating agent (root repair)
• Ability to form hydroxyapatite and to bond with dentin and filling materials
• Nano size makes it apt for delivery
 

Currently pursuing her post-graduation in Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Dr. Sreedevi expressed her gratitude for the support and guidance received from her professors, Dr. Baby James and Dr. Sapna C. M.