Failure modes in ceramic-based layer structures: Relevance to failure of dental crowns. With the aging of our population, issues concerning the lifetime of biological system are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our society. This project is closely linked to the development of prosthetic materials and structures that will improve performance and life of biomechanical devices, by providing better understanding to the mechanics of failure and failure origins of ceramic-ba ....Failure modes in ceramic-based layer structures: Relevance to failure of dental crowns. With the aging of our population, issues concerning the lifetime of biological system are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our society. This project is closely linked to the development of prosthetic materials and structures that will improve performance and life of biomechanical devices, by providing better understanding to the mechanics of failure and failure origins of ceramic-based dental crowns and restorations, and to develop materials that will withstand exacting conditions - in body fluids - over extended lifetimes. Crown replacement is by far the most widespread of all prosthetic procedures. This project promises to help bridge the gap between physical and medical science in Australia. Read moreRead less
Effects of prosthesis design on bone remodelling and longevity of dental restorations. The project targets both the 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health' and 'Advanced Materials' designated research priority areas. The research will underpin Australia's leading role on some emerging interdisciplinary frontiers of biomechanics, biomaterials, health sciences and biomedical software. The development of computer aided clinical plan will help optimise dental restorations for 'long-term success'. Th ....Effects of prosthesis design on bone remodelling and longevity of dental restorations. The project targets both the 'Promoting and Maintaining Good Health' and 'Advanced Materials' designated research priority areas. The research will underpin Australia's leading role on some emerging interdisciplinary frontiers of biomechanics, biomaterials, health sciences and biomedical software. The development of computer aided clinical plan will help optimise dental restorations for 'long-term success'. The benefit will be to improve the ongoing performance and longevity of dental restoration, which complies with the highly demanding national goal of 'ageing well'. The study will also provide a new means to improve the therapy effect for many young Australians' effort towards a 'healthy start to their life'.Read moreRead less
Topography Optimisation of Implants for Enhancing Osseointegration. With recent increased life expectancy, the ratio of implant recipients to total population has dramatically increased. The project will address a critical issue in ensuring long-term success of prosthetic treatment. The proposed computational multiscale modelling will provide a sound scientific alternative means to optimisation of overall implant design including surface topography. The anticipated outcomes of this research will ....Topography Optimisation of Implants for Enhancing Osseointegration. With recent increased life expectancy, the ratio of implant recipients to total population has dramatically increased. The project will address a critical issue in ensuring long-term success of prosthetic treatment. The proposed computational multiscale modelling will provide a sound scientific alternative means to optimisation of overall implant design including surface topography. The anticipated outcomes of this research will help improve the quality of prosthetic therapy, and benefit our prosthodontic and orthopaedic professionals and their patients. The study clearly aligns with the national research goals of frontier technologies and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
Failure of Complex Biomechanical Structures. Layer structures are replete in biological systems, both natural and artificial. Issues concerning the lifetime of such systems are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our aging society. Our project will analyse damage in brittle layer systems that simulate dental crown structures. We are now at a critical point in the understanding of how these structures fail, and are beginning to make substantive predictions to improve des ....Failure of Complex Biomechanical Structures. Layer structures are replete in biological systems, both natural and artificial. Issues concerning the lifetime of such systems are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our aging society. Our project will analyse damage in brittle layer systems that simulate dental crown structures. We are now at a critical point in the understanding of how these structures fail, and are beginning to make substantive predictions to improve designs for prolonged life. The project is connected to the dental community and international crown material manufacturers through a broader NIH project in the USA. The improved materials and crown designs resulting from this project will have impact worldwide, including Australia.Read moreRead less
Failure of Worn Tooth Structures. Layer structures are replete in biological systems, both natural and artificial. Issues concerning the lifetime of such systems are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our aging society. Our project will analyse damage in brittle layer systems that simulate natural teeth and dental crown structures that have been subject to wear. The project is connected to the dental community and international crown material manufacturers through a bro ....Failure of Worn Tooth Structures. Layer structures are replete in biological systems, both natural and artificial. Issues concerning the lifetime of such systems are paramount to the quality of life and economic well being of our aging society. Our project will analyse damage in brittle layer systems that simulate natural teeth and dental crown structures that have been subject to wear. The project is connected to the dental community and international crown material manufacturers through a broader National Institutes of Health project in the USA. The improved understanding of damage mechanisms in natural teeth and crown designs resulting from this project will have impact worldwide, including Australia.Read moreRead less
Nano-mechanical and nano-structural investigation of dentine: unravelling a novel nano-scale regulator of high durability of mineralised tissues. This project proposes that proteoglycans (PG) are key regulators of the high durability of dentine. PGs are primarily responsible for the structural organization of collagen in all vertebrates, however virtually nothing is known about their role on the biomechanics of mineralized tissues. This study aims to thoroughly address this question.
Child Dental Benefit Policies and the Health of Australian Children. This project aims to examine the early effects of two recent initiatives by the Australian government to improve children’s dental health by providing funds to cover essential dental services for children from disadvantaged families. It explores the factors affecting eligible children’s access to benefits from these initiatives and identifies the causal impacts of these changed health care financing arrangements on children’s c ....Child Dental Benefit Policies and the Health of Australian Children. This project aims to examine the early effects of two recent initiatives by the Australian government to improve children’s dental health by providing funds to cover essential dental services for children from disadvantaged families. It explores the factors affecting eligible children’s access to benefits from these initiatives and identifies the causal impacts of these changed health care financing arrangements on children’s consumption of dental services, indicators of oral health and general health, and other indicators of cognitive and non-cognitive development. Using advanced econometric techniques and panel datasets, this project is expected to contribute to the development of effective policies for promoting health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Advanced micro-architecture and nanotopography for enhanced tissue growth in scaffolds. Tissue engineering scaffolds offer an urgently needed synthetic biomaterials solution to overcome disease transmission from donor transplants. This work will combine biomaterial chemistry and designed surface topography to trigger bone formation within a scaffold for the first time in the world. Collaboration with national research leaders on stem cell and animal testing of the new scaffolds will provide the ....Advanced micro-architecture and nanotopography for enhanced tissue growth in scaffolds. Tissue engineering scaffolds offer an urgently needed synthetic biomaterials solution to overcome disease transmission from donor transplants. This work will combine biomaterial chemistry and designed surface topography to trigger bone formation within a scaffold for the first time in the world. Collaboration with national research leaders on stem cell and animal testing of the new scaffolds will provide the necessary interdisciplinary approach to generate a new product for patients in need of bone regeneration. Australia will benefit from the contribution to medical science, the development of a new device for rapid prototyping tissue engineering scaffolds, retain biomaterials research expertise, and generate new biomedical products.Read moreRead less
The mechanics of being human. This project will lead to far more detailed understanding of skull mechanics in our own lineage. Results will be of great interest to international scholars in both evolutionary and biomedical fields and help to establish a primary position for Australia in the rapidly expanding area of computer simulation of biological structure. Further development on our own established protocols for automated transfer of CT scan data into finite element models, which have alread ....The mechanics of being human. This project will lead to far more detailed understanding of skull mechanics in our own lineage. Results will be of great interest to international scholars in both evolutionary and biomedical fields and help to establish a primary position for Australia in the rapidly expanding area of computer simulation of biological structure. Further development on our own established protocols for automated transfer of CT scan data into finite element models, which have already improved speed, accuracy and realism, will take finite element analysis to a point at which it can be more readily applied to evolutionary, biomedical and safety design questions.Read moreRead less
Biomimetic Insights from Enamel: A Nano-mechanical and Nano-structural Investigation of a Natural Ceramic-like Biocomposite. Enamel is a naturally developed example of an optimised material structure that constitutes the hardest tissue in the human body. In addition it is exposed to severe mechanical and environmental challenges and must last the lifetime of the individual and unlike other tissue is unable to heal or repair itself. Understanding the factors controlling the amazing mechanical pr ....Biomimetic Insights from Enamel: A Nano-mechanical and Nano-structural Investigation of a Natural Ceramic-like Biocomposite. Enamel is a naturally developed example of an optimised material structure that constitutes the hardest tissue in the human body. In addition it is exposed to severe mechanical and environmental challenges and must last the lifetime of the individual and unlike other tissue is unable to heal or repair itself. Understanding the factors controlling the amazing mechanical properties of this tissue will be of great benefit for the design of bio-inspired materials and be important for the development of advanced materials for which Australia already has an enviable reputation.Read moreRead less