Researchers Have Developed A Gel That Can Really Regrow Tooth Enamel

As humans, we have two sets of teeth in our lifetime, the baby teeth and the permanent also known as “adult” teeth. 

The hardest bone of our body is teeth, But the acids in our food cause our teeth to lose their enamel, which is a hardened material protecting the surface of the teeth.

The cells that causes enamel are killed at ones when generated, and it erodes, damages or never brings back its former self again.

However, Chinese specialists have made a solution which is a liquid which has the ability to regenerate the hard-external surface of broken tooth enamel by utilizing a substance that copies the natural mineralization of the external surface which protects the teeth.

This new gel exactly causes the enamel to regenerate itself, as the procedure copies the bio mineralization after that cells which are known as ameloblasts let goes proteins that somehow turns into enamel. 

However, the cells which are known as ameloblasts can be seen only at phase of tooth development, so our adult teeth have practically no natural potential to regenerate after they are created.

Namely, specialists from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China collaborated the two minerals which are discovered in enamel, calcium and phosphate ions, and created a solution which is alcoholic which contains the organic compound trimethylamine. 

The new method requested a different kind of calcium phosphate ion clusters (CIPCs), calculating only 1.5 nanometers in diameter. The small pieces were after that maintained in an ethanol solution using a chemical named triethylamine, which stops them from grouping together.

When the scientists put on the substance which is like gel, to the human teeth given by patients, in a place like in the mouth, the very little clusters fortunately combined to the fish-scale like structure of local enamel, reproducing the layer of the tooth with an identical and solid layer just like the actual one that grew to a density of up to 2.8 micrometers within 48 hours.

The reason for many failures in the attempts has occurred because the composite crystalline nature of enamel, so this method is billed promoted for the first time in the world.

Internationally, the dental society is amused about this research, as the present solutions only repair the teeth but does not have the ability to regenerate the composite crystal structure to regenerate a pearly white shine. 

It was said by the specialists that the reasonably made ion clusters which contained calcium phosphate can be used to make a precursor layer to get epitaxial crystal production of enamel apatite, which copies the biomineralization crystalline – amorphous frontier of solid tissue growth in nature.

In addition, the freshly recreated enamel has the exact structure same as mechanical properties as local enamel, according to Zhaoming Liu who is a biomimetics and material scientist.

Still, as the research has only been carried out on extracted teeth, the group of specialists intent to trial their technique on mice, and then human soon later. 

They think that they can regenerate tooth enamel in spite of using filling which have completely different substances, and if all the things go as planned, to begin tests in humans within the following few years.

The ability to potentially repair damaged teeth and stopping teeth from getting spoilt is the specialty of this new method.

Specialist think it may be few years prior this substance discovers its path to clinical use at our local dentists, given future trials showing its safe and constructive.

It is advised that until the new substance is totally checked, we must still be attentive about the health of our teeth by Chen Haifeng, who is an associate professor at Peking University’s biomedical engineering department.

He further states that we should not wait until the teeth is damaged, because prevention is the most appropriate way.

He said:

“Our teeth are a miracle of nature. Artificial replacement will never do the job as well.”

Sources of the information: themindunleashed.com | www.sciencealert.com | theconversation.com