Dental fillings aren’t a pleasant way to fix cavities, but they’re necessary to fill in holes and prevent further damage. But now a research team at the University of Nottingham in the UK is working on a gel that could help prevent tooth decay and regenerate damaged tooth enamel.
According to research published in the journal Nature Communications earlier this month, the gel works by containing a modified version of amelogenin, a protein that helps guide the growth of enamel in infants. The gel fills holes and cracks in the teeth when applied.
“The gel was able to grow crystals epitaxially, which means it’s in the same crystallographic orientation as existing enamel,” Alvaro Mata, a professor in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials at the University of Nottingham, told New Scientist.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Enamel is the hard layer of the tooth that shields the softer inner layers from damage caused by general wear and tear, acid and bacteria. Tooth decay happens when the enamel layer breaks down. Enamel doesn’t regenerate naturally, and while fluoride treatment and remineralization toothpaste that uses nano-hydroxyapatite can offer a temporary fix, they aren’t a permanent solution, unlike getting a dental filling.
