Supporting Technological and Product-Oriented Projects in Dental Materials Research Center at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Head of Dental Materials Research Center at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences informed of production of Nano-sealer dental material in this research center and said: this research plan is related to the endo department of the Dental School and according to the latest schedules we will obtain its production licenses by the end of this year.

According to WebDa, reporting on the three-year performance of Dental Materials Research Center at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences Dr. Hossein Bagheri emphasized that this center began its work in 2010. He said: the agreement in principle of this center was received in 2012 from the Expansion Council of Ministry of Health.

Referring to the research potential of this center for applying productive knowledge generated, he said: currently, we have been able to obtain production licenses for one product (a material for treating tooth root diseases) and we are going through the final stages of accomplishing this task that is done by the endo department of Dental School of the university.

Dr. Bagheri stated: currently, as quality checks for the product were performed and the necessary approvals were obtained, a knowledge-based company has issued the permit for production of this material; this company is now located at Bou Ali research center of the university and this operational success will be tested on a human sample.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center noted: according to the latest schedules, we will obtain permits to produce this dental material (HTND Nano-sealer) by the end of this year that will place Iran among producers of dental materials such as India and Brazil.

Dr. Bagheri also informed of implementation of two other product-oriented plans in the area of pediatric dentistry and said: in these plans attempts are made to produce dental pulp and pulpectomy dough that are used in pediatric medicine.

He announced the establishment of the synthesis unit at Dental Materials Center and said: we are seeking to establish a biomaterial synthesis unit and we are well supported by the Research Deputy of the university in this regard.

Faculty member of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences pointed out: the synthesis unit of Dental Materials was operationalized in the central laboratory and we are attempting to produce product-oriented materials in this unit.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center noted: we are seeking to produce a range of products-from artificial saliva to decay inducing solutions to ceramic materials (Hydroxyapatite)-that are very valuable in the synthesis unit.

Dr. Bagheri announced that dental adhesives are being designed in this center. He said: these adhesives are made based on Hydroxyapatite filters that are the mineral component in teeth and bones, and we also plan to make composites which we have already researched about its features.

He explained: all these plans are in the form of research plans, purposeful prioritized plans of the Research Deputy and the existing resources. 

In the second part of his speech, he provided some information about Dental Material Research Center and said: cooperation of 10 members of the High Council together with research activities of 38 educational faculty members as well as two research faculty members has provided us with a very high potential for research.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center referred to the establishment goals and running this research center and said: employing faculty members from other disciplines based on current regulations of the university is one of the main purposes of establishing this research center in order to develop research in dental materials.

Dr. Bagheri emphasized: the dental materials discipline is an inter-disciplinary expertise, and if it is only restricted to the area of dentistry it we will lose its high scientific potential.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center continued: we hope that non-dentist experts be applied as research faculty members, research PhD students, freelance researchers and research designers so that we can benefit from these people’s knowledge to develop science in this center.

Adding to this report, Dr. Bagheri explained that achieving product-oriented research is our desired outcome in this research center. He said: we should be able to produce an item after doing consistent research and we will not limit ourselves to doing research and writing papers.

He stated: some of the activities in this center are associated with the students and their research plans while dental materials professors together with residents and students attempt that these plans yield fruit.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center noted: we actually conduct two types of research in this research center; the first is associated with identifying materials that are constantly used in clinics and the characteristics and alterations of these materials.

Dr. Bagheri continued: identifying treatment technics and how to use these materials inside the tooth for materials available in the market are the second type of research.

‘The main focus of the research center is on the second type of research’, said he: ‘in this type of research which includes a research center’s developmental outlook, we try to focus on dental materials that we intend to make’.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center stated: currently, the state’s policy is based on resistance economy and with respect to the employment issue based on the President’s emphasis on employment of educated and knowledgeable graduates of universities, this is a priority for this center.  

Dr. Bagheri explained: the problem today which we have attempted to eliminate in this research center is training and enabling those educated in the field of dentistry.

He noted that one mission of this research center is to identify freelance experts of this field as well as employing faculty members. He said: these people can well be employed in this center due to unemployment after their graduation, and we can form good research teams by providing ideas and training idea development. 

Head of Dental Materials Research Center reiterated: products should replace articles which is a very hard task and requires much effort and lots of research.

Dr. Bagheri predicted a very bright future for this research center and stated: faculty members should work on ideas that lead to items production, are not merely research for the sake of research, and fit within the framework of the university’s policies and the country’s requirements.

He insisted: today, our main requirement in the field of oral health is prevention and increasing people’s awareness to protect their oral health and if we produce items that can help people enhance their health in the prevention stage, we will be successful.  

Head of Dental Materials Research Center said: tooth problem begins with a small decay and this restored decay ends up in root treatment, dental crown and finally implanting.

Dr. Bagheri regards utilitarian look in the area of oral health as incorrect and said: as a person in charge of preventing from oral health problems, I will support those plans (mouthwashes, toothpastes) that are based more on the prevention principle.

He pointed out that the mission of research centers is to attract budget from outside the university and said: if we are able to produce items in our research center and familiarize investor companies with the university, we might achieve a great deal.

 Head of Dental Materials Research Center considered introducing research centers to investor companies very crucial and added: we hope that we will be able to apply our knowledge with this view and relying on the ability of our colleagues and achieve the goal of wealth generation in line with implementing research plans.

Dr. Bagheri believes that the mission for Head of Dental Materials Research Center is to identify, evaluate and make biomaterial for dental materials. He said: most treatments are involved with dental materials and we cannot distinguish this area from dentistry.

He stated: optimizing the existing materials or producing new materials is another mission for this research center, since mere comparison of foreign products in the articles has no benefits for national production and only foreigner companies make profit in this regard.

Head of Dental Materials Research Center emphasized the importance of resistance economy and job creation for the educated students in this center and said: we should move toward generating product-oriented items and inter-disciplinary areas are more successful in this regard.