Technological advances

Pandemic is pushing breakthroughs in dentistry

GreenMark Biomedical is a Michigan-based, minimally invasive healthcare company founded in 2016. In partnership with its collaborators at the University of Michigan, GreenMark has developed LumiCare™ rinse for early detection of tooth decay, which is pending FDA Clearance as a 510(k) Class II Device.

It is an aqueous oral rinse that uses proprietary nanoparticles to illuminate early cavities in teeth using a simple dental curing lamp. It is designed to enable dentists to preserve teeth through early detection and treatment. GreenMark’s mission is to expand upon this nanotechnology platform, further applying it to dentistry and medicine.

The current standard for cavity detection has been found lacking, with the available tools presenting an array of limitations. The visual/tactile exam misses early-stage cavities, the sharp metal dental explorer can cause cavitation, while X-rays have difficulty detecting early cavities.

GreenMark’s LumiCare™ rinse was created to provide a quick and affordable method to detect early-stage “incipient” cavities.

The rinse contains bioresorbable nanoparticles that target early-stage cavities and, by using a standard blue curing light, illuminates them so they are brightly visible through an orange filter (see figure below). LumiCare™ rinse is an easy and effective tool that enables the clinician to preserve healthy enamel by revealing incipient cavities that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.

The technology represents the avant-garde of preventative dental care. The LumiCare™ rinse is a water-based solution containing patented fluorescent sub-micron starch particles that have been functionalized to target and adhere to the subsurface of early-stage cavities after penetrating through their surface porosities. Natural enzymes in human saliva degrade the particles by the time the patient leaves the dental clinic.

The company’s next product under development is a noninvasive restorative treatment that is designed to deliver enamel-like material to fill incipient lesions.

What does this mean in the post-COVID19 era? Given concerns over aerosols caused by high-speed handpieces that could spread air-borne viruses, GreenMark’s experts are indicating that in the post-COVID19 era when dentistry returns to the “normal”, we will all become even more receptive to preventative and noninvasive products.

Visit www.greenmark.bio for more information.

Dr. Eric L. Eby, D.D.S., M.A.G.D. His interests include crown and bridge, implant dentistry, and sleep apnea.