Researchers at the University of Nottingham created a gel that can regenerate tooth enamel. It can also strengthen already healthy enamel and prevent future decay, they said.
Tooth enamel is a thin outer shell on a tooth’s crown that protects it from wear and tear from chewing and grinding. Although it is a tough material, according to Penn Dental Family Practice, it can wear away over time. Enamel cannot grow back naturally on its own.
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When enamel degrades, it contributes to tooth decay, infections, tooth loss and even cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Degradation is associated with dental problems that affect almost half of the global population, researchers said.
Now, though, scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy and Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering collaborated with an international team of researchers to create a material that repairs it.
How does the gel work?
In a press release, researchers said the gel can be put on teeth the same way dentists apply regular fluoride treatments to patients. The new gel, though, is protein-based and fluoride free.
It copies what researchers say are “key features” of natural proteins that help infants grow dental enamel. Once it is applied, the gel creates a “thin and robust layer” that fills holes and cracks in teeth.
Then, the gel takes calcium and phosphate ions from saliva and encourages the growth of a new mineral. This process, which is called “epitaxial mineralization,” lets the new mineral organize and integrate to the underlying natural tissue as it recovers the structure and properties of natural, healthy enamel.
Professor Alvaro Mata, chair of biomedical engineering and biomaterials at the University of Nottingham, said scientists hope to have a first product using the gel out next year.
“We are very excited because the technology has been designed with the clinician and patient in mind. It is safe, can be easily and rapidly applied, and it is scalable,” Mata said. “Also, the technology is versatile, which opens the opportunity to be translated into multiple types of products to help patients of all ages suffering from a variety of dental problems associated with loss of enamel and exposed dentine.”
