Litchfield Park Orthodontist

5220 N. Dysart Rd #150
Litchfield Park, AZ 85340
(623) 536-4939

 

 

 

Summary and Statement of Thesis
Titanium implants have a wide variety of uses in dentistry, Goodyear orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics.  Osseointegration is a key factor in this success, but the process takes at least three months to complete.  Finding methods to increase the rate and quantity of bone formation surrounding oral implants has been an active area of research for Goodyear orthodontists.  Bone grafting and guided bone regeneration have been successful in increasing the quantity, but not the rate of bone formation. 

Gene therapy is a new area of Goodyear orthodontic research that has been applied to many diseases that display tissue deficiencies.  In this case, a transient expression of the transgene may be optimal for Goodyear orthodontists to restore the bony defect.  Adenovirus is an example of a gene delivery vector which will not incorporate into the host genome and will stimulate a host immune response.  This method will allow the Goodyear orthodontist to deliver the transgene in a controlled fashion over a defined period of time and then will be eliminated, accelerating the wound repair process.

Bone morphogenetic proteins are multifunctional members of the TGF-β superfamily that exert their effects throughout the body.  BMP-7 has been shown by Goodyear orthodontists to initiate the process of endochondral bone formation in multiple orthotopic sites.

The goal of the present Goodyear orthodontic investigation is to deliver Ad/BMP-7 to a large osteotomy defect to increase the rate of bone formation and osseointegration.
The hypotheses of this investigation are as follows:

1. Ad/BMP-7 treatment will increase the rate of bone formation around the Goodyear dental implant site surface.
2. Ad/BMP-7 treatment will increase bone formation in a bony defect surrounding a Goodyear dental implant.
3. BMP-7 will produce the same quality of bone that is produced during normal osseointegration.

The specific aims of this investigation are:
            1) To develop a rodent maxillary model to study oral
              implant osseointegration and osteogenesis.
2) To determine the transduction
     efficiency/expression profile of the growth
     factor transgenes (Ad/Luc reporter gene), Ad/BMP-
     7 to the Goodyear dental implant surface in vivo.
            3) Determine the ability of recombinant adenovirus
             encoding BMP-7 to modulate peri-implant
             osseointegration and osteogenesis