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Toothpaste made with keratin may protect and repair damaged teeth: study
- tmcdos 1y agoAny fluoride paste quietly calcificates your pineal gland. Try something natural, like Xylitol or even just pour a tea spoon of sodium bicarbonate into a glass of water and wash your teeth with it. Keep the mix in your mouth for 5 minutes. You can also use sunflower oil (a spoon of it) and rinse it in your mouth for 15-20 minutes.
- sohkamyung 1y agoOpen Access Paper: [ https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.202502465 https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.20... ]
- vhodges 1y agoDid they mean route as in path to a solution? Or root as the source? Seems odd.
- brnaftr361 1y agoRoot as in seed [crystal], as in nucleation point is what I would surmise.
- __alexs 1y agoDentistry pun? Root as in the root of a tooth?
- altairprime 1y ago“The root of the problem” is a more usual usage, but is just as readily applied (ha get it) as “the root of the solution”, especially when a dental pun can be bonded (puns are swell) to the headline (I can’t think of a way to pun on gumline here). I found the phrasing really difficult to read and understand, even though I got the pun, so you’re not alone in that.
- ben_w 1y agoWas thinking about oddities of language recently (happens a lot since moving to Germany), specifically how "toothpaste" isn't made from teeth and "tomato paste" isn't something you rub onto a tomato. So anyway, should we be calling this "hairpaste for teeth", or "toothpaste from hair"?
- nkrisc 1y ago“Toothpaste” is the commonly accepted English word (in most English dialects, as far as I’m aware) for that paste which we use to clean our teeth with a brush. So I expect we’ll call it “toothpaste” regardless of the exact chemical composition. If keratin is the active ingredient, I would suspect the exact source doesn’t really matter.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- swores 1y agoI agree that the source won't be a reason for not calling it toothpaste, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's not called toothpaste anyway - that's a term they're using now as it makes it easy for people to imagine what they're talking about, but dentists don't call every type of gel/stuff that they apply to teeth "toothpaste", and as this will be about targeting repair rather than daily cleaning I suspect it will get a new name.
- nkrisc 1y agoI meant colloquially.
- BobbyTables2 1y agoIndeed. We expect olive oil to be made from real olives, but not baby oil…
- Waterluvian 1y agoThe coffee cake is a lie.
- bobajeff 1y ago>While fluoride toothpastes are currently used to slow this process, keratin-based treatments were found to stop it completely. That's really great I hope to use this some day.
- dotancohen 1y agoSensodyne toothpaste has two lines: one that contains a mild painkiller (Rapid Relief) and one that [claims to] repair small cracks in teeth (Repair & Protect). I use the latter. I do not know if it works, but I use it. I have never suffered from tooth pain before or after.
- mackey 1y agoIt depends on the country also. In the UK for example, Repair & Protect uses novamin but in the US it just uses stannous fluoride.
- ckosidows 1y agoI'm curious if there's been any evidence Novamin actually repairs enamel or "repairs" in some other way. IIRC, it's not allowed in the states because it's not economical to prove that it actually repairs teeth, but I think my understanding is based on some internet comments and nothing else. The studies I've seen haven't proven to effectively repair enamel, I think, but I'm also not scientifically literate enough to understand the p values they report. I used to buy repair and protect from Canada back in 2017 but haven't used it since then. I periodically check if there is any solid evidence but I haven't seen much or I'm too stupid to understand it.
- chronogram 1y agoI think Canada has it with Novamin, while the US doesn't. The Netherlands does, and Germany doesn't. All with the same "repair & protect" name. It's puzzling. Now Germany does have it under a new "clinical repair" name, of course the "clinical" ones in the US do not, those do contain soap for some reason (sodium lauryl sulfate) which I don't think I've seen in any other country.
- cluckindan 1y agoSo, chewing on beetle exoskeletons would repair teeth enamel? Wonder if there is archaeological evidence of humans doing that. Edit: there seems to be plenty of evidence of eating insects but any dental association is probably incidental (pun not intended). Maybe we just haven’t been looking into the enamel for these structures.
- comrade1234 1y ago[flagged]
- tomrod 1y agoThere are lots of activities wherein a hair, pubic or otherwise, might end up in a person's mouth.
- comrade1234 1y agoName two.
- gaudystead 1y ago1. Having long unsecured hair and driving with the windows down 2. Dining out at a place with low hygiene standards 3. "Dining in" ;)
- tomrod 1y agoKissing a child on the head Snuggling with a dog Breathing Oral sex Licking yourself like a cat
- droningparrot 1y agoExoskeletons are usually made of chitin and not keratin. But maybe it works the same way
- hawk_ 1y agoBut why not chew on hair directly?
- orliesaurus 1y agoFunny that the first picture on the website is a bald man, I guess he hasn't tested it himself?
- dkiebd 1y agoWhy do you think he ran out of hair?
- jncfhnb 1y agoPerhaps he had hair before the harvesting
- MrGilbert 1y agoAs you can see, he has a beard, so…
- djmips 1y agoOr tested too much..
- k4rli 1y ago[flagged]
- zetanor 1y agoThis isn't reddit. Low value comments like this have low value.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- swayvil 1y ago[flagged]
- ymolodtsov 1y agoNot really. People started having issues with teeth when we switched to farming and went from a diverse diet to a pretty poor one (grain, grain, grain).
- swayvil 1y agoCorrelation causation etc. I'm gonna start eating whole mice. It's a nice compromise. They're velvety.
- thfuran 1y agoYou need to try chinchillas.
- wizzwizz4 1y agoAre you a cat?
- mcswell 1y agoThere's a scene in the 1983 movie "Never Cry Wolf" about that. Apparently they taste better with ketchup.
- dfawcus 1y agoOr even just eat Rabbits, as they're already a common recognised food animal?
- ammanley 1y agoI recommend rats, we have them in surplus around here-parts.
- 1970-01-01 1y agoSugar, high fructose corn syrup, and acidic drinks such as coffee and cola does almost all the damage.
- temptemptemp111 1y ago[dead]
- NKosmatos 1y agoThat’s very good news, but we’ll have to wait a little bit: >>> “keratin-based enamel regeneration could be made available to the public within the next two to three years.”
- HPsquared 1y agoThat's pretty unbelievably fast, actually.
- Y_Y 1y agoYou can just put hair in your blender today.
- ffsm8 1y agoI don't think you can blend hair into a paste you can then spread over your teeth. This is about tooth paste, not a supplement
- brnaftr361 1y agoToothpaste is not a complicated compound to make. The question is one of optimization. What size (mechanical) or what type of keratin is most suitable, or do we depolymerize (chemical) it first or let oral enzymes do it..? Is brushing as-is sufficient or do we need a longer dwell time..?
- andrewflnr 1y agoThe article mentioned "extracting keratin". It might be more a chemical than a mechanical process.
- Y_Y 1y agoYou are quite right, seems like there are unbreakable matrices that require chemical action: https://www.jsr.org/hs/index.php/path/article/download/4787/2180/36260 https://www.jsr.org/hs/index.php/path/article/download/4787/... Suitable chemical methods: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141813018312261 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01418... https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10157874/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10157874/
- iaw 1y agoI recently started using a nano-hydroxyapatite based toothpaste. It can't restore enamel but does better at remineralization than fluoride, hopefully it will be a good intermediate for me until something regenerative is available.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- lend000 1y agoIt seems to me the two are effectively the same unless you have significantly misshaped teeth (remineralizing vs regenerating). I also use hydroxyapatite, just to reduce my fluoride exposure, although I believe fluoride is supposed to be a more potent remineralizer (and fluorapatite is allegedly stronger than natural hydroxyapatite). But the upside is that I don't mind swishing hydroxyapatite around in my mouth for 10 minutes, twice a day, so whenever I go to the dentist, I'm the healthiest mouth of the day (not the case pre-hydroxyapatite tooth paste/powder).
- BenjiWiebe 1y agoWhat product(s) do you recommend? I'm in the US.
- agensaequivocum 1y agohttps://betterbiom.com/products/nobs-toothpaste-tablets https://betterbiom.com/products/nobs-toothpaste-tablets
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoNobs is good because they only use rod-shaped NHA, not needle-shaped NHA which has a worse safety profile. Safety profile is important for anything nano
- zubairshaik 1y ago
- footlong2 1y ago[dead]
- meindnoch 1y agoThis is also why people who bite their nails don't get cavities.
- lazyasciiart 1y agoSadly not true. Source: my teeth and nails.
- jmward01 1y agoI wonder if this will fall into 'supplement' territory for US approval in toothpaste. I can imagine there would be a lot of manufacturers throwing it in without testing to see if their formulation actually works or not.
- AdamH12113 1y ago“Made from hair” is clickbait — the research is about keratin, a common structural protein.
- epgui 1y agoThey literally made it from hair (wool) though… So it’s fairly accurate.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- vinni2 1y agoI guess it implies human hair.
- dfxm12 1y agoFWIW, I did not assume human hair.
- cypherpunks01 1y agoHah, I didn't assume that either, it was only until after I read the first sentence of the article, "Toothpaste made from your own hair.."
- rapnie 1y agoIn the Dutch public TV program "Keuringsdienst van Waarde" they had an episode about bread improvement ingredient (keratine) and traced it down to being sourced from human hair collected at hairdressers in China. Sounds disgusting of course, but many raw materials are, and after processing industrial grade pure keratine is the output. https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/chinees-mensenhaar-verwerkt-in-brood https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/chinees-mensenhaar-ver...
- stubish 1y agoHuman hair is probably easiest to source in quantity, given it is a waste product in hair dressers world wide. Other current uses are wigs, and cleaning oil spills.
- ted_bunny 1y agoChew your fingernails! Do the toes with your molars. My foot is usually in the neighborhood anyway.
- partomniscient 1y agorms - is that you...?
- buybackoff 1y agoThe picture says "enamel-mimicking" and the text says "protective coating that mimics the structure and function of natural enamel", so it looks like a protective layer, not true repair. I've been using a paste with novamin lately, it also creates a protective layer and is also marketed as "repair". I like it and feel some heat when it contacts with teeth, so the chemical reaction must be working. But the marketing leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
- majkinetor 1y agoI use novamin but I can't feel a chemical reaction. Have you noticed something more promising ? I am not sure, because I typically do not eat carbs.
- buybackoff 1y agoI feel it on the spot that was sensitive to cold, and that was the reason I looked for something new. The paste is of room temperature, so that feeling must be not a fluke. No idea if it actually works, F+Ca used to be enough.
- danhau 1y agoI use toothpaste with Novamin and I also feel burning / heat. It begins immediately and lasts for about 2 minutes.
- mgiampapa 1y agoI don't feel anything when using it, but it does do a much better job with hot / cold sensitivity than anything else I have tried on the market. I find it more effective than Biomin or Nano-Hydroxyapatite.
- upghost 1y ago> marketing leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Hard to brush that one off! [that was brilliant, you missed your calling. I am completely enamled :D]
- jbjbjbjb 1y agoThe image with the cross section looks convincing. I don’t really know what I’m looking at.
- latexr 1y agoI’ve been reading about how “X could repair tooth enamel” for years, including on HN. Nothing ever comes of it. I’ll believe it when something exists out of a laboratory and on the market. > The treatment could be delivered through a toothpaste for daily use or as a professionally applied gel Could. In other words, they haven’t even tested if a toothpaste is viable, yet the title is written as if this is a ready-made and proven product.
- yieldcrv 1y agoOnly thing missing is a B Corporation certification so that otherwise smart people won’t recognize the grift
- satellite2 1y agoVisibly there is already Sanogyl Complete Essential Care that includes some. I wonder how they got the idea to put some in it
- Hnrobert42 1y ago> The team ... believes [it] could be made available [in] the next two to three years. Hey Siri, remind me in three years to look for keratin based toothpaste.
- throwawayffffas 1y agoBack in 2017, we were promised actual regeneration, not holding my breath. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/09/decline-of-the-dentists-drill-drug-helps-rotten-teeth-regenerate-trial-shows https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jan/09/decline-of-t...
- gautamcgoel 1y agoAny upcoming advances for gum disease?
- YZF 1y agoIsn't Xylitol supposed to help with that? And brushing and flossing...
- bolangi 1y agoSo, that explains the benefits of chewing on one's own locks.
- tremon 1y agoAnd nail biting.
- hacker_88 1y agoBrushing my teeth with Head and Shoulders
- panny 1y ago>Unlike bones and hair, enamel does not regenerate, once it is lost, it’s gone forever. This simply isn't true. I've chipped two teeth at separate times. Both healed up over the years. I still have all my teeth, including wisdom teeth. No dental work in my lifetime.
- cmckn 1y ago> Both healed up over the years. They….did not. Maybe the sharp edges eroded into smoother curves, and the nerve acclimated so any sensitivity resolved, but your teeth did not “heal” as in “replace the lost portion”.
- panny 1y ago>but your teeth did not “heal” as in “replace the lost portion”. I can assure you that is exactly what happened, because one was a vertical chip out of the front of my tooth, like a small rice grain. For my tooth to "wear down" to hide it, I would have had to lose all the enamel on the front of that tooth, which did not happen. As for the other, where I lost the corner of a front tooth, I suspect my old dentist in my hometown still has an xray, because my parents took me in. He offered to crown it and I declined, choosing to live with the chip. Good thing I did that, since it healed up.
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoHow does this compare with nano-hydroxyapatite, which is the current rage in toothpaste innovation and remineralization?
- skylissue 1y agonHA is prohibitively expensive to produce and the most effective process that produces the smallest particles is patent-protected by Sangi, and therefore many nHA toothpaste brands only contain a fraction of the concentration used to produce the effective results reported in academic studies (1-2% instead of 10%). If keratin toothpastes can be produced more economically they could be a better option for mass adoption. For anyone who wants to try nHA toothpaste for remineralization, I can only recommend Sangi Apagard Royal toothpaste ($$$) but it does work quite well when used as directed.
- EasyMark 1y agobah it's like $15-20 a tube that will last a couple months. That's nothing to most people on hackernews
- skylissue 1y agoMore expensive than conventional fluoride toothpaste available in the US but I agree it is a small price to pay when considering the benefits
- EasyMark 1y ago1 tube lasts me nearly 3 months. Eat at home one time and you're good. I'm not saying people who are living paycheck to paycheck where $15 makes a big difference between choosing rent or food or toothpaste, but that should have been obvious I think. Fluoride works of course, but I think in the long run nHAP works better and is probably better for your teeth. I know it fixes all my sensitivity issues and I haven't had a cavity in 10 years since I started it, was using novamin before that.
- ClassicJesus 1y agoIs there any blogpost or website to get my mind unstuck on toothpaste? I feel this market is extremely confusing and I don’t know what to buy anymore. EU citizen here.
- stefantalpalaru 1y ago[dead]
- haltcatchfire 1y agoI'd appreciate that too. My dentist recommended me to use Duraphat, a 9 euro per 50 gram toothpaste.
- Rastonbury 1y agoIf you have no issues like sensitivity or cavities, imo I don't think there's a need to spend time optimizing the type of toothpaste. Went down that rabbit hole once reading research papers of tested and optimum fluoride concentration for remineralization, no idea why I did that considering I just use the toothpaste my partner gets and I haven't had a cavity in a decade probably
- mmkhd 1y agoAh, the non-problems of young people! What you say is true, but effective repair tooth pastes might be quite interesting for people that already have thin enamel, worn away enamel, crowns, reduced gums, etc. I hope the effect size is big enough for one of the substances mentioned here …
- ozgrakkurt 1y agoJust wash it with vinegar
- rsync 1y agoStrange to see this at 246 points on the front page and no mention of bioglass such as novamin? Is this mechanism different?
- trallnag 1y agoAnother great reason to chew on my nail clippings!
- footlong2 1y ago[dead]
- DoctorOetker 1y agoThink about it, the human genome already contains genetic encoding of keratin, it wouldn't have to evolve (incrementally bruteforce) a full protein code to "protect and repair" damaged teeth. It would just need to "happen onto" accidentally expressing it somewhere in the mouth: perhaps the mucous membrane lining the inside cheeks, perhaps the tongue, perhaps some glands in the mouth. Accidentally expressing a gene in a cell type that didn't before is much easier to occur (i.e. more likely) than generating a new functional protein: all it takes is a change in the binding site (or promoter region) so that the relevant cell type (say lining the mouth) would express it, conditionally or unconditionally. If this were effective, our bodies would probably be doing it already. Just to clarify: even if 2 people had the exact same genetic coding for proteins, but different coding of promoter regions, then these will have different binding affinities, modulating when proteins will or wont be expressed and at what rate. So when considering a population's genome statistics, there is already a spectrum of promotor region codes in the population, if this keratin presence on teeth had significant advantage, selection pressure would already have increased that level towards optimum. The only caveat for my reasoning would be if it were discovered that this is exactly what happens in a healthy mouth, and that we recently discovered that conventional toothpastes have been stripping such layer of keratin by abrasion.
- mmkhd 1y ago> If this were effective, our bodies would probably be doing it already. Naaah, this is not how evolution works. Tooth decay was not as big of a problem for our ancestors than it is for us (more sugar and acidic soft drinks) and tooth decay becomes more of a problem for older people that already reproduced making good teeth above a certain age uninteresting from an evolutionary standpoint. (And mayebe instead of better teeth we learnded to feed grandparents soft porridge to keep them around longer for babysitting duties ;-) (see the usefulness of aunts in elephants). Just because you like to keep your teeth, doesn‘t mean that nature cares.
- sMarsIntruder 1y agoDoes this kind of treatment still need probably years of testing and FDA-style approval, even if it’s essentially just a keratin derivative?
- aszantu 1y agoJust wanted to add for anyone suffering problems with gums and teeth Gums and Collagen - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7570157/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7570157/ * As far as I understood, calcium needs a scaffold to attach to bones and teeth - collagen, as in gelatine, can seemingly support the regeneration of the gums, as well as some limited regeneration of the teeth * Personal Note: I used to have knee pain in my twenties when I still ate a standard diet, when I took collagen it took about a month until the knee pain went away * Teaspoon in the morning was enough * Overdosing on Collagen might create some problems - might wanna read up on this
- fbn79 1y agoHow does this compare to microrepair? https://www.nature.com/articles/vital695 https://www.nature.com/articles/vital695
- iandanforth 1y agoAnother win for sheep! If you've never encountered the wonder substance known as lanolin let me bring you some good news. This other sheeps wool extract is an oil that is absurdly good at healing dry and irritated skin. It's also fantastic for hair, producing manageable and silky locks. I know I sound like a commercial, sorry! It's usually marketed as nipple cream, which I think has unfairly limited its other uses. If you're a parent you may know about it, otherwise try it yourself!