A dental professor at the Nova Southeastern University (NSU) College of Dental Medicine has secured a U.S. patent for developing a surface modification technology to promote chemical bonding between high-performance ceramic materials, such as alumina and zirconia; biological materials, such as tooth structures; and synthetic materials, such as dentures and crowns.
Jeffrey Thompson, PhD, a professor of prosthodontics and director of the Biosciences Research Center at NSU's dental school, and a team of researchers from RTI International in Durham, NC, developed the new technique, according to the university.
The research was funded by a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research grant.
Thompson was among three NSU professors who recently secured patents for their innovations.
