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Researchers create gel that regrows tooth enamel (2015)
- desireco42 10y agoFinally something to advance dental technology :) I wonder how much existing practices, who are invested in repair and especially cleaning of teeth feel about possibilities to permanently repair teeth. There are other advances such as the one with laser stimulation.
- Eric_WVGG 10y agoThere’s also a new stem cell treatment that could make root canals obsolete. http://www.popsci.com/end-root-canals http://www.popsci.com/end-root-canals https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12026614 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12026614
- lj3 10y agoThis one is far more exciting to me. The idea that we can re-create dentin from stem cells with functioning nerves and everything is crazy.
- fourstar 10y agoI've talked to most of the researchers studying this particular method. We won't be seeing anything in practice for another 50 years by what some of them claim.
- desireco42 10y agoI know about that. It will be years before it becomes available. The only way this will come to market faster is if the emerging market as China or some other country, Japan for example, adopt it and start using it. Japan comes to mind as I heard that they actually try to treat root canals overthere.
- blacksmith_tb 10y agoThere's Silver Nitrate / Silver Diamine Fluoride [1] which appear to be as effective as drilling + filling cavities. Of course, they are also much, much cheaper, so they will cut into that average $160K/yr salary for dentists in the US... 1: http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2016/07/the-dos-and-don-ts-of-silver-diamine-fluoride.html http://www.dentistryiq.com/articles/2016/07/the-dos-and-don-...
- radicalbyte 10y agoI think that the reluctance has more to do with the side effects: according to that article it can stain skin and turns teeth black. Think of the lawsuits :(
- porpoisemonkey 10y ago> Of course, they are also much, much cheaper, so they will cut into that average $160K/yr salary for dentists in the US... I doubt that this makes much of an impact. Cavities aren't really a money maker for dentists and inadequacies inherent to the repair process mean that you'll almost certainly need more expensive work later on. The only way to really "beat" the dentists is to avoid enamel loss and calculus formation through proper cleaning technique and regular dental cleanings. https://www.animated-teeth.com/dental_insurance/a-dental-costs.htm https://www.animated-teeth.com/dental_insurance/a-dental-cos... Most dentists in the US are private practice which makes for a competitive market that prides itself on the quality of its customer care. If you really want to be worried about someone coming to take your hard earned money I'd be concerned about the growing incorporation of dentistry offices in the US. http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-105/issue-4/macroeconomics/the-future-of-dental-practice-demographics-patients-professionals-and-procedures.html http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-105/iss...
- neeleshs 10y agoNice, I hope this hits mainstream in the next 10 years - I'm hoping my teeth will survive without a lot of damage till then :). The researchers also have filed for a patent https://www.google.com/patents/US20140186273 https://www.google.com/patents/US20140186273
- goda90 10y agoLets hope they come up with techniques to help us with severely damaged teeth. Maybe we can replace all the metal and ceramics with real enamel.
- lj3 10y agoYou can regrow tooth enamel on your own right now. It's much, much slower than this and requires a criminally large amount of cod liver oil and butter oil (ie: vitamins A, D, K2 and calcium).
- abecedarius 10y agoI'd suggest bone broth too. I don't know why my teeth are less sensitive when I have that regularly, but it's a clear effect, remineralization would be the obvious guess, and my dentist said to keep doing it.
- mad_dev 10y agoYup, you could also tackle your diet. Given the multifactorial aetiology of dental caries; Host, Plaque, and diet. I would highly recommend the least invasive approach; changing your diet. In addition to the noted vitamins, sucrose should not be included in your dietary program seeing as how it is a cariogenic constitute. There are other compounds that play a major role in the development of dental caries, but sucrose has that special something about it. Also, fluoride either in water (1.13ppm) or topical. Lasty, Xyiltol gum, it helps to rebalance oral pH. And of course brush and floss. This way, you prevent the development of dental caries--fingers crossed--and help in the reminiralisazion process.
- rpedela 10y agoThat claim needs a citation from a trustworthy source.
- atxcrab 10y agoDental technology comes out of stone age :) Most of 'innovation' was around x-ray machines and nice chairs for last several years ( at least for most of patients )
- convolvatron 10y agoi didn't see a dentist for 30 years when i came back, i had issues. but the imaging was really quite a bit better. the adhesives were better. the crown construction process was a lot better. cleaning processes much better. filling materials substantially advanced. mold making considerably advanced. everything was substantially less painful, cheaper, and more well understood. maybe you can fault it for not being better faster
- amelius 10y agoThis toothpaste claims the same, not sure what to make of it: http://www.smile-store.eu/prevdent-re-whitening-and-enamel-repair-toothpaste.html http://www.smile-store.eu/prevdent-re-whitening-and-enamel-r...
- colordrops 10y agoThe key is nano-hydroxyapatite. Toothpaste with this ingredient is also sold in Japan.
- Terretta 10y agoNano-hydroxyapatite and its applications in preventive, restorative and regenerative dentistry: a review of literature -- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4252862/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4252862/ > "The nano-hydroxyapatite is a revolutionary material with a wide use in dentistry. With regard to restorative and preventive fields, nano-hydroxyapatite has remarkable remineralizing effects on initial lesions of enamel, certainly higher than traditional fluorides used until now for this purpose." Apagard Premio toothpaste 100g | the first nanohydroxyapatite remineralizing toothpaste -- https://www.amazon.com/Apagard-Premio-toothpaste-nanohydroxyapatite-remineralizing/dp/B0016GCZSC/ https://www.amazon.com/Apagard-Premio-toothpaste-nanohydroxy...
- Hogg 10y agoThe date on the article is November 23, 2015.
- dang 10y agoThanks. Added.
- stephanheijl 10y agoIs it just me, or does it feel like we've been hearing about advances in dental treatment for decades, without them actually having any effect on the practice? From my personal experience as someone living in the Netherlands, where standards of health care are pretty high, I would expect these advancements to make at least _some_ impact on the field. Instead my (admittedly anecdotal) experience as a patient has been basically the same over the years. 2014 - "No more fillings as dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/16/fillings-dentists-tooth-decay-treatment https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/16/fillings-den... 2011 - "An end to the dentist's drill: New painless cavity filler could be on the market in two years" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2077816/Scared-dentist-New-painless-cavity-drill-market-years.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2077816/Scared-den... 2004 - "No drilling, no filling in painless dentistry" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1477044/No-drilling-no-filling-in-painless-dentistry.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1477044/No-drilling-n... 1998 - "Dental lasers – are they the safest way to fill your cavity?" http://judyforeman.com/columns/dental-lasers-are-they-safest-way-fill-your-cavity/ http://judyforeman.com/columns/dental-lasers-are-they-safest...
- cultureulterior 10y agoYou can get dental lasers in London at least
- wikibob 10y agoCould you recommend a particular dentist there? Do they have the Solea 9.3 µm laser? From what I've been able to find, it's the only one that directly removes enamel and dentin. The other kind is erbium lasers which vaporize a water jet which then removes the material, but it's vastly less precise.
- cultureulterior 10y agoYou know WAY more than me about the subject, so thank you for teaching me something new.
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- Puts 10y agoWait? Didn't I see this exact same thing in 2005? https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/feb/24/5 https://www.theguardian.com/science/2005/feb/24/5
- petra 10y agoThe root cause of most dental issues , including dental carries is a simple bacteria. We've been dealing with bacteria , extremely well, since the first vaccine. And for 30 years , there has been research for a vaccine. So where is it ? Well, one company , oragenics was ready for clinical trials. But it seem[1] that, due to a very restrictive enrollment criteria they couldn't enrol people to their clinical trial.Due to that and to further uncertainity due to fda , they stopped the clinical trial waiting for "partnering opportunities". Such a shame. I wonder how and what could restart that project ? [1]hsprod.investis.com/site/irwizard/orni/ir.jsp?page=sec_item_new&ipage=8899679&DSEQ=1&SEQ=19&SQDESC=SECTION_PAGE&exp=&subsid=41
- smallnamespace 10y agoDental caries aren't caused by a single species of bacteria, but by multiple species working together. They form an extracellular matrix called a 'biofilm' that makes them resistant to immune system attack [1]. The link you cite is not a vaccine, but a supposed 'replacement' bacteria that outcompetes the native bacteria [2]. This can definitely work, but I'm doubtful it will be universally effective, for the same reasons that probiotics don't always work: every person has different existing populations of bacteria, and not every invading species will be successful at colonizing or dominating that environment. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20630188 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20630188 [2] http://www.oragenics.com/technology-pipeline/lbp/smart http://www.oragenics.com/technology-pipeline/lbp/smart
- dualogy 10y ago> Dental caries aren't caused by a single species of bacteria, but by multiple species working together. Yeah, but not many. Next to the ~half-dozen-hundreds-or-so of species populating our oral cavity without issue (indeed contributing just fine), we know of just ~under-half-a-dozen-or-so potentially dangerous ones. The very ones who create the very few actually damaging acids (among the many kinds in the world that our initially-generally-robust dentition handles just-fine) when fermenting carbohydrate leftovers. Brushing regularly disrupts or may even destroy their biofilm, Xylitol accomplishes/contributes the same FWIW, or absent dietary carbohydrate (read, ancestral ice-age hunters / traditional inuit / Maasai warriors etc) the problematic sort doesn't even ever form.
- stevebmark 10y agoMaybe relevant to someone: Fluoroquinolone antibiotics like Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin), *floxacin, etc, directly and maybe permanently increase the production of MMPs, the enzymes this article is talking about. That's (partly) why these antibiotics cause teeth to shatter at the gum line spontaneously. There are something like 40 MMPs and we don't know what they all do, but they're generally responsible for destroying tissue in the body. Normally this is a good thing, like when a wound needs to clear out cells for wound healing. But fluoroquinolone antibiotics cause the "upregulation" of these enzymes, possibly permanently through epigenetic changes, so the body literally eats itself over time. This is why teeth shatter, hair falls out, collagen disappears (wrinkles, skin damage), connective tissue dissolves (like the optic nerve, leading to retinal detachment / blindness), and tendons literally snap without use, which can lead to disability. All of this damage can be irreversible even at low doses of fluoroquinolones.
- rjurney 10y agoGot a source? I want to read it.
- stevebmark 10y agoThere are literally thousands of studies on fluoroquinolones. Unfortunately none directly show tooth decay but the private support communities have. Simply Googling for "fluoroquinolone mmp" will return many studies to start from. Tendon rupture and retinal detachment are well documented. There are also many reasons why side effects from these drugs are under-reported and under-studied. For example, fluoroquinolones have been around since the 70s, but the first case report of tendon rupture did not appear until 1983. After all, who would believe an antibiotic would cause a tendon rupture up to years after taking it? Doctors to this day do not usually believe that patients' spontaneous ruptures are caused by fluoroquinolones, despite being well documented in the scientific literature now.
- derefr 10y agoNot a source, but a corollary of the parent's claim that might be easier to look up: doxycycline, an MMP inhibitor, is used (under the trade name "Periostat") as a prophylactic after dental root planing to prevent damage to the enamel.
- skc 10y agoThe day it becomes possible to completely replace all my teeth with great looking indestructible alternatives cheaply, sign me up.
- smn1234 10y agonot enough longitudinal studies with statistical (significant) power... who knows what the innovation's outcome truly is... lichen planus?