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A person grows teeth only twice during their life – first the baby teeth and then the permanent or “adult” teeth. This has always been regarded as an immutable fact of life.
Even though teeth are the hardest bones in our body, millions of people worldwide experience erosion and gradual loss of tooth enamel in adulthood.
What is tooth enamel and why does it decay
Tooth enamel is the tissue on the surface of the tooth, which is made up of 95% inorganic minerals and its function is to protect the tooth surface.
Its erosion and subsequent loss occur mainly as a result of tooth decay and also due to the action of certain acids found in foods and drinks.
However, the tissue that makes up tooth enamel is different from tissues we find, for example, in bones, muscles or skin. Once tooth enamel has developed, the cells that were needed for its formation immediately die.
This means that when tooth enamel begins to erode, chips off or starts to crack, it can no longer regenerate naturally on its own.
However, a team of Chinese scientists recently managed to develop a special solution that makes it possible to restore the natural process of regenerating the hard outer layer in cases of damaged tooth enamel.
This remarkable enamel restoration process is triggered by a substance that mimics the natural mineralization process in which the outer protective layer of teeth is formed.
A detailed description of this method was published in early September 2019 in the scientific journal Science Advances. From this description it follows that applying the aforementioned solution restores the process of biomineralization.
In the biomineralization process, cells known as ameloblasts secrete a certain type of protein that eventually transforms into tooth enamel.
In other words, this newly developed gel-form solution is capable of initiating the self-renewal process of tooth enamel.
Fig.: In these photographs taken with an electron microscope we can see how the human tooth enamel self-renews after 6, 12 and 48 hours from the application of the newly developed solution. The original enamel is marked in blue, the restored enamel is marked in green. Photograph: Zhejiang University / Science Advances
A new revolutionary discovery by scientists
A team of scientists working at the medical faculty of Zhejiang University (Če-ťiang) in China conducted a series of experiments in which they attempted to mix two minerals found in tooth enamel – calcium and phosphate ions.
These two minerals were added to an alcohol solution, in which they were mixed together with another organic compound, trimethylamine. When the solution was prepared, they applied it to teeth with damaged enamel.
By using this exceptional gel, the scientists managed to create a layer of new tooth enamel approximately 3 micrometers thick within 48 hours.
This new revolutionary method is considered the greatest medical discovery of 2019. And it’s no wonder. Previous experiments in which scientists attempted to restore eroded and damaged tooth enamel have failed.
The reason for these unsuccessful experiments is the very complex, crystalline structure of tooth enamel, which scientists have so far not been able to recreate in laboratory, artificial conditions.
Statement by the scientists
In their research report the scientists state:
“In our experiment it was confirmed that an ingeniously developed and prepared material, which consists of clusters of phosphate and calcium ions, can be used to create a thin layer, a kind of substrate for the formation of new tooth enamel.
This thin layer serves as a precursor, which is the starting point for the epitaxial growth of the crystalline structure of enamel apatite.
This process is a faithful imitation of the biomineralization of crystalline amorphous layers that can be observed in the formation of hard structures and tissues in nature. “
The team of scientists hopes that after such successful testing of their new method they will be able to test it on the teeth of real dental clinic patients within a year, but at the latest within two.
Zhaoming Liu, an expert in biomimetics, a scientist dealing with material structures and co-author of the above experiment, said in an article on the online portal Sky News:
“The tooth enamel we can grow using our new method has almost the same structure and mechanical properties as original tooth enamel.
We hope that one day we will succeed in implementing our method on such a scale that dentists, when treating and especially when restoring enamel growth, will no longer consider any other method.
Our goal is that fillings and dental restorations, which contain materials completely different from those originally found in teeth, will be completely discontinued in dentistry.
If everything goes smoothly, our new method could begin to be introduced into practice within one to two years.”
Medicines and products used to prevent tooth enamel erosion and tooth decay are already available on the market today.
However, this new method is revolutionary in that it will probably be possible through it to completely remove tooth decay or even restore the growth of missing parts of a tooth. It is clear that such an effective method is also a hundred percent prevention against the development of tooth decay.
Conclusion
Chef Haifeng, an associate professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at Peking University, however warns that until this new method is properly tested and then introduced into dental practice, we should still take great care of the health of our teeth and oral cavity.
Professor Haifeng commented:
“Prevention is always the best treatment. We should never wait until some problems appear. Our teeth are a miraculous work of nature.
And no artificial replacement ever approaches the perfection of the original teeth in its structure. “
