Another Potential Approach to Remineralization of Lost Tooth Enamel

It seems that the research community has made some progress in recent years towards methods of rebuilding tooth enamel. This would in principle allow for reconstruction rather than replacement of damaged teeth, and let dental caries be regrown rather than drilled and patched. I noted one possible approach earlier this year, and the work here is the basis for another. These are fairly low-level methodologies, depending on the fine molecular details of mineralization in living organisms. The open access paper makes for interesting reading, albeit rather heavy going for anyone not up to speed on the chemistry involved. It remains to be seen how rapidly this approach can move towards the clinic.

Enamel, located on the outer part of our teeth, is the hardest tissue in the body and enables our teeth to function for a large part of our lifetime despite biting forces, exposure to acidic foods and drinks and extreme temperatures. This remarkable performance results from its highly organised structure. However, unlike other tissues of the body, enamel cannot regenerate once it is lost, which can lead to pain and tooth loss. These problems affect more than 50 per cent of the world's population and so finding ways to recreate enamel has long been a major need in dentistry.

Now a new approach can create materials with remarkable precision and order that look and behave like dental enamel. The materials could be used for a wide variety of dental complications such as the pr...

Source: Fight Aging! - June 5, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs