New Tooth Paste Is Here To Fill In Dental Cavities Without Drilling. Synthetic Enamel for Rapid Toot
Japanese researchers have formulated a way to create a super-thin mineral film that simulates human tooth enamel. The discovery could lead to patches that could leave teeth looking whiter and prevent tooth decay, even for people on a steady diet of sugary snacks like, you know, everyone. The patch is made of #hydroxyapatite, the main ingredient in synthetic tooth enamel.
In cavities' earliest stages, tooth decay is microscopic. It doesn't make sense to use fillings in those cases because too much of the healthy tooth would have to be removed to help the filling stick. Left unchecked, #bacteria in tiny cavities destroy tooth enamel, creating deeper cavities in the tooth.
The new dental paste stops that process before it snowballs. The white crystalline paste chemically and structurally resembles tooth enamel. It successfully repaired an early cavity lesion in a lower premolar tooth, the researchers report.
It took 15 minutes to use the paste to seal the tooth's affected area. Examination showed the paste fit right in, integrating with the tooth's enamel. The paste left no gap and kept the treated enamel's thickness even, say the researchers. The paste can fix early cavities and strengthen natural enamel, helping to prevent cavities from returning to the same area, they say.
This synthetic enamel not only repairs teeth but also protects teeth from #cavity at the same time. Because, the decay occurs and continues by bacteria. Synthetic enamel covers the tooth surface. Therefore bacteria cannot survive because of lack of nutrition.
Its acidity and high concentration of hydrogen peroxide could cause inflammation of the gums, say the researchers. Other materials with similarly aggravating potential are already used on patients, they note.
How is synthetic enamel applied?
Procedures of the treatment:
(1) Brush the tooth to clean the surface of early dental caries using toothbrush with toothpaste on it.
(2) Apply the synthetic enamel paste to the decayed part of the tooth, and allow it to act for 15 minutes.
(3) Wipe off the paste from the tooth surface of the dental enamel, and wash in water, then dry.
(4) Brush up the crystallized synthetic enamel to make it shiny.
It is now in clinical trials. Company is running #clinical_trials for the approval in #Japan, but there is no plan to run clinical trials in #EU or #USA, yet.
The synthetic enamel developed by researchers including Kazue #Yamagishi, DMD, from #Japan's FAP #Dental Institute started in #2005.
Information credit: http://homepage2.nifty.com/nmc/index.html, geekosystem.
Image credit: the guardian, http://homepage2.nifty.com/nmc/case_photos1.html#decal