Chinese Scientists Regrow Tooth Enamel In 48 Hours With Phosphate Gel (newscientist.com) 46
hackingbear writes: A team of researchers at China's Zhejiang University were able to create a gel that makes tooth enamel repair itself, they wrote in the science journal Science Advances, a development that could spell the end of fillings as an (unreliable) method to repair cavities which are one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in humans. The gel succeeded in making the enamel repair itself within only 48 hours. Though it now only manages to generate a layer of about 3 micrometres -- about 400 times thinner than undamaged enamel, the researcher says the gel could be repeatedly applied to build up this repair layer. The team is now testing the gel in mice and hopes to later test it in people.
48 hours for 1/400th normal enamel thickness? (Score:2)
Heck, just sit there with gel on your teeth for 19,200 hours and you're good as new. Way to go, Chinese researchers!
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Re:48 hours for 1/400th normal enamel thickness? (Score:5, Interesting)
Or, maybe just add some to toothpaste, along with (or replacing) fluoride.
Dude, this is the first draft. Give them a minute to fine tune it.
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"Give them a minute to fine tune it."
As he said, give them 19200 minutes.
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It was 19200 hours, but even then, maybe you just put it on while you sleep. Even if you are just slowly gaining enamel, it would be better than just doing nothing and letting your teeth rot away.
Re:48 hours for 1/400th normal enamel thickness? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:48 hours for 1/400th normal enamel thickness? (Score:4, Insightful)
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Or, maybe just add some to toothpaste
Maybe even chewing gum
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According to most toothpaste commercials, they ALREADY repair enamel, while brightening your teeth, freshening your breath and increasing your IQ.
Re: 48 hours for 1/400th normal enamel thickness? (Score:2)
And providing increases in length, girth, and stamina.
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Dude, this is the first draft. Give them a minute to fine tune it.
Naaa, today we need everything NOW! People cannot be bothered to wait. And if it does not deliver immediately, how can it ever?
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Or, maybe just add some to toothpaste, along with (or replacing) fluoride.
Dude, this is the first draft. Give them a minute to fine tune it.
Do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake? Children's ice cream!...You know when fluoridation began?...1946. 1946, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That's th
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You are correct. My dentist says I should brush at least 2 minutes at a time, twice a day; over 70 years that's 51135 minutes or 852.25 hours
On the other hand, for my enamel to survive that long (25,567 days) each 1/400th of its thickness has to last 63 days, so it shouldn't be too hard for the gel to keep up with normal wear and tear.
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Going to the dentist would involve measuring your enamel thickness, maybe with an X-ray once a year and checking to make sure you weren't over or under-growing enamel.
Hey! What's wrong with being a naked molerat?!
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They applied the gel once, then dropped the teeth in a solution designed to mimic the mouth. They didn't leave it on continuously.
So in the spirit of wild extrapolation, brush your teeth for a year or so, and there you go, cavities repaired.
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Antibiotics and mouthwash kill the bugs and presumably the rot would still be drilled out if needed, pack the thing with gel, then put something temporary over top of the hole to hold it in place for the 48hrs.
It also isn't clear that follow up layers where there is not a hole to contend with would take 48hrs or only be 1/400th each.
I'm a dentist (Score:5, Informative)
This is great if it works, and applied to decay that hasn't penetrated the enamel it would maybe prevent cavities (assuming you can get the patient to change their self-care habits). In decay that has penetrated the enamel, you still have to take out the decayed tooth structure and you still have to replace that structure, so it isn't the end of fillings but maybe a replacement for some of the materials that are used now.
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What is the difference between a dentist and a sadist?
The sadist has better magazines in their waiting room.
Re:I'm a dentist (Score:4, Interesting)
What about NovaMin (calcium sodium phosphosilicate) that is available in Europe but not the US as a toothpaste ingredient? The claim is that it also repairs damage.
Re:I'm a dentist (Score:4, Informative)
Novamin is also available in Canada and it does work. With daily use, rough surfaces and even macro sized scratches on the enamel get smoothed over with a hard protective layer over time. I've only ever seen NovaMin on the Sensodyne Repair & Protect toothpaste product line, where the words "Powered by Novamin" are discreetly placed on the box. The same Repair & Protect product line is available in the US with the same packaging, only without the Novamin.
In Japan, they have the Apagard brand with nano-hydroxyapatite. Pretty much the same compound that makes up the natural enamel, but in particle sizes small enough to easily bond to the tooth surface. It is so effective that they don't even bother adding fluoride to it. You can order it on Amazon or eBay, but you won't find it in stores outside of Japan.
It makes me wonder why these advances have not made it to the US. Instead, we see lots of toothpaste products marketing themselves as Enamel Defense(TM) or whatever, when it's just the same old fluoride in fancy packaging. It's like they're trying to drown out the real innovation with false marketing, so consumers don't know what to trust anymore.
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When I was a young kid, (at least from my parents perspective) I had a major ear infection, where my baby teeth didn't have enamel on them. So my baby teeth were prone to cavities, even with multi-daily brushing) Other then just fixing cavities, I could possibly see this as a way to strengthen teeth with less enamel then normal.
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I can make humans fly to the Moon! (Score:2)
(jumps up three feet)
See!
Now, I just have to do that a few more times and I can fly to the Moon!
I've got a dentist appointment in about a month... (Score:2)
I want me sum buckteeth by halloween! (Score:1)
Or maybe some fangs...
Peer Reviewed? (Score:1)
Trojan Horse (Score:2)
...They forgot to mention that when the gel detects American teeth it triggers an acidic reaction.
RAH Strikes (Score:2)
This sounds like the beginning version of the regrowth technology that the revered Robert A. Heinlein wrote about in The Door Into Summer.
He was only talking about this in 1956.
Gnarly Gnomes (Score:2)
Phase 1: Collect underpants. No, that's not it. Put this new chemical concoction in the drinking water.
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit!
- This SIG was stolen by gnarly gnomes...
Reminova? (Score:2)
Sigh more promises they'll break (Score:2)
Shock Discovery (Score:1)