The technology should be available within five years, and will be able to fight early stage tooth-decay without the need for expensive, painful fillings.
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SYDNEY: Australian scientists have invented a liquid which repairs damage to tooth enamel while you sleep, according to research presented this week.
The technology should be available within five years, and will be able to fight early stage tooth decay without the need for expensive, painful fillings, they said.
"As a working dentist, I thought that there needs to be a better way to treat this problem," said Nathan Cochrane, a dental scientist from the University of Melbourne. He presented his work at the annual meeting of the Australian Collaborative Research Centres Association (CRCA) in Canberra this week.
History of decay
Tooth decay has plagued humanity throughout history. Our teeth are covered in a community of bacteria, which feed on carbohydrates in the mouth. They excrete acid as a waste product, wreaking havoc on tooth enamel, said Cochrane. The acid gradually erodes the enamel, showing as whitish spots on teeth. Eventually the enamel collapses in on itself, painfully exposing the sensitive inner parts of the tooth.
For over 100 years, the only treatment has involved boring into the tooth, removing the rotting material and refilling the hole with metal. Fillings, however, are prone to failure, often need replacing, look ugly and can be painful to install. To find a better solution to the early stages of tooth decay, Cochrane's team turned to the molecules which enamel is made of.
They found that they could reverse some of the damage by immersing teeth in a solution containing calcium, phosphate and fluoride – the building blocks of tooth enamel. In the lab, they exposed fragments of damaged enamel, chipped off dead wisdom teeth, to various formulations of the solution. Under the right conditions, the solution infused into the damaged enamel, repairing the crystalline structure from within.
Magic ingredient
A protein, casein phosphopeptide, isolated from milk, proved to be the secret ingredient. Under natural conditions, this protein helps babies grow bones; in the solution it stabilises the building blocks required for repair. Appropriate pH also turned out to be vital – at an acidic pH of 5.5, the molecules combined into a special, electrically neutral, deep-penetrating form.
The researchers tested the quality of repaired tooth enamel in the lab using an electron microscope. The results revealed that the solution had penetrated the tooth, and restored the enamel in three dimensions, rather than just on the surface as in traditional fluoride treatment. "The enamel we developed was more resistant to future attacks," said Cochrane.
A similar product, 'tooth mousse', was developed by the same team. However it is a cream, not a liquid, and is thought to be less efficient at penetrating teeth.
Your Title is a bit optimistic
To claim this technology will "banish dental fillings" is silly.
For a start; if the tooth has already been filled, sorry you'd better go to a prayer meeting at the local Apostolic church and hope a miracle occurs.
As for new technology "banishing dental fillings" we have old technology which has been 100% effective at this for years - Fissure sealants, Dental floss, tooth brushes, fluoridated toothpaste/public water supply and finally avoidance of cariogenic (tooth decay causing) foods such as soft drinks and sweets.
In spite of these perfectly effective technologies dental decay remains a serious public health issue. Why? because they only work if you use them routinely. Technology only works when it is used - for instance; saying "seatbelts banish road deaths" is ridiculous; some people don't even wear them and other habits are required such as driving sober, to the conditions, at the speed limit, on your side of the road, in a properly maintained vehicle etc etc.
To be sure seatbelts and bioavailable calcium phosphate products are both brilliant technologies but we would be naive to think they can "banish" the unwelcome issues they are designed to address entirely.
Your headline could read; "New treatment helps to prevent tooth decay - but don't stop flossing". And besides, like all the other preventive treatments before it, this one will only work if you use it!