A dental gel developed at Temple University is now being advanced by an alum-led company into products for both human patients and companion animals.

Periodontal disease is one of the most common health problems in both people and pets, contributing to tooth loss, chronic inflammation and broader health impacts. In dogs, clinical sources estimate that 80–90% of pets over age 3 show signs of periodontal disease, yet treatment options that support regeneration of lost bone and tissue remain limited.

Researchers at Temple University’s Kornberg School of Dentistry, Santiago Orrego and Carolina Montoya, developed a novel gel technology designed to address this gap. The innovation, Ambrilux Dental Gel, builds on advanced materials science to support healing in damaged periodontal tissue.

The science behind the gel

“Our goal was to create a smart biomaterial that does more than simply fill a defect or act as a passive carrier, but instead actively addresses the major challenges of periodontal disease,” said Orrego, associate professor at Kornberg and principal investigator of the school’s Smart Biomaterials Research Laboratory. “What makes this gel especially innovative is its novel piezoelectric approach, which harnesses gentle mechanical forces already present in the oral environment to generate localized stimulation within diseased tissue.”

Ambrilux is a minimally invasive dental gel designed to support bone repair in areas affected by periodontal disease. The gel incorporates piezoelectric particles that generate a small electrical charge when exposed to gentle mechanical forces, such as chewing. This microcurrent is intended to stimulate local cells and support periodontal bone tissue healing. Orrego and Montoya’s research demonstrated the promise of this approach and laid the foundation for its translation into veterinary and human device development.

“This technology reflects years of work in our laboratory to develop smart biomaterials that actively support healing, and we believe it points toward a new future for regenerative, minimally invasive periodontal care,” explained Montoya, research associate at Kornberg.

After the technology was disclosed through Temple’s commercialization process, it was licensed to Oral Biolife, a MedTech company led by Temple School of Pharmacy alum Stella Vnook, CLA ’96, PHR ’00. Through a collaboration with a publicly traded animal health company, the Temple-developed platform has now been translated into a commercially available veterinary dental device for dogs. The company is also advancing Ambrilux for human dental applications.

“Temple faculty and researchers regularly generate discoveries with strong potential for real-world impact,” said Stephen Nappi, associate vice president for commercialization and business development at Temple. “Our role is to build partnerships that create commercialization pathways to move those discoveries beyond the university and into practical use.”

A Temple alum guiding the pathway to commercialization 

Vnook’s decision to return to Temple to commercialize a discovery made by Temple researchers underscores the strength of the university’s innovation ecosystem. She brings extensive experience across the biotechnology sector, having led and advised multiple science-focused ventures and helped guide technologies from laboratory concepts to real-world applications.

“Stella brings relentless energy to every opportunity and has a strong instinct for building and advancing new ventures,” said Todd Abrams, executive director of the Innovation Nest.

That drive shaped Vnook’s early engagement with Temple. She first connected with the university’s technology commercialization team through Abrams, with whom she worked for years to explore technologies with commercial potential before deciding to pursue the development of Ambrilux into a commercial product. 

“Temple’s research provided the scientific foundation,” said Vnook. “Our role is to build the clinical, regulatory and commercial pathways that allow that science to reach real patients—and now even their companion animals.”

For Temple, it is important that licensed technologies move to partners with the scientific depth needed to guide further development. “We work closely with industry partners to help translate Temple discoveries into real-world applications,” said Josh Gladden, vice president for research at Temple. “In this case, partnering with an alum-founded company with deep scientific expertise helped move this technology forward. The strength and breadth of the Scientific Advisory Board supporting this work reinforces the rigor of the science and the credibility of the development pathway as the technology advances from the university into clinical practice.”

The company is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board with expertise across dentistry, biotechnology and clinical innovation. Members such as Ronaldo Santana, Abrams and Edward Zuckerberg bring perspectives that help guide product development and inform strategic decisions. 

Companion animals today, human patients tomorrow 

The path from lab discovery to a veterinary dental device now used in dogs required careful adaptation. To make that transition, Oral Biolife worked with an experienced animal health partner to adapt the gel for use in companion animals and prepare it for commercial introduction.

“Temple’s team showed this gel could drive regeneration in rigorous preclinical models,” said Oral BioLife CEO Greg Ambra. “Our role has been to translate that insight into a commercial product that is already helping cats and dogs, and then to carry that same novel platform forward into human clinical development so patients and their clinicians can benefit from true bone tissue regeneration, not just disease management.”

In parallel with the veterinary commercialization, Oral Biolife is advancing Ambrilux as a minimally invasive human dental device intended to support the regeneration of bone tissue and reduce reliance on more invasive surgical interventions. The company is working with the FDA to obtain guidance and confirmation on the pathway to medical device clearance, with the goal of bringing the Temple-developed gel into periodontal clinics in the coming years.

Ultimately, the veterinary gel and the emerging human Ambrilux device show how a Temple discovery can move beyond the laboratory. It is a progression that reflects how research, when paired with the right partners, can take shape in the real world.