I think that this therapy will be available much sooner than suggested here. Cavities weaken teeth and actual bone replacement is a long sought boon. This suggests that a live tooth can have all the old fillings removed and then have the gel applied to restore natural bone.
We still cannot grow new teeth outright but this tells us that it is becoming easier to restore full health to old teeth.
This sounds as though it worked first time out. It is noteworthy just how quick the repair proceeded.
Proceeding from this to framing material and the like is no trick at all.
JUNE 30, 2010
* The technology doesn't prevent cavities; it heals teeth by regenerating them.
* Although this is good news for teeth, the research could also be applied to heal bones and other tissues in the body.
* Teeth Regeneration will only be used rarely. If a filling will work, then dentists will stick with the current cheaper and familiar option.
A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or a thin, flexible film and placed next to a cavity, encourages cells inside teeth to regenerate in about a month, according to a new study in the journal ACS Nano.
The gel or thin film contains a peptide known as MSH, or melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Previous experiments, reported in the Proceedings of the
Bone and teeth are fairly similar, so the French scientists reasoned that if the MSH were applied to teeth, it should help healing as well.
To test their theory, the French scientists applied either a film or gel, both of which contained MSH, to cavity-filled mice teeth. After about one month, the cavities had disappeared, said Benkirane-Jessel.
Millions of teeth are saved each year by root canal therapy. Although current treatment modalities offer high levels of success for many conditions, an ideal form of therapy might consist of regenerative approaches in which diseased or necrotic pulp tissues are removed and replaced with healthy pulp tissue to revitalize teeth. Melanocortin peptides (α-MSH) possess anti-inflammatory properties in many acute and chronic inflammatory models. Our recent studies have shown that α-MSH covalently coupled to poly-l-glutamic acid (PGA-α-MSH) retains anti-inflammatory properties on rat monocytes. This study aimed to define the effects of PGA-α-MSH on dental pulp fibroblasts. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated fibroblasts incubated with PGA-α-MSH showed an early time-dependent inhibition of TNF-α, a late induction of IL-10, and no effect on IL-8 secretion.
However, in the absence of LPS, PGA-α-MSH induced IL-8 secretion and proliferation of pulp fibroblasts, whereas free α-MSH inhibited this proliferation. Thus, PGA-α-MSH has potential effects in promoting human pulp fibroblast adhesion and cell proliferation.
It can also reduce the inflammatory state of LPS-stimulated pulp fibroblasts observed in gram-negative bacterial infections. These effects suggest a novel use of PGA-α-MSH as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of endodontic lesions. To better understand these results, we have also used the multilayered polyelectrolyte films as a reservoir for PGA-α-MSH by using not only PLL (poly-l-lysine) but also the Dendri Graft poly-l-lysines (DGLG4) to be able to adsorb more PGA-α-MSH. Our results indicated clearly that, by using PGA-α-MSH, we increase not only the viability of cells but also the proliferation. We have also analyzed at the nanoscale by atomic force microscopy these nanostructured architectures and shown an increase of thickness and roughness in the presence of PGA-α-MSH incorporated into the multilayered film (PLL-PGA-α-MSH)10 or (DGLG4-PGA-α-MSH)10 in accordance with the increase of the proliferation of the cells growing on the surface of these architectures. We report here the first use of nanostructured and functionalized multilayered films containing α-MSH as a new active biomaterial for endodontic regeneration.
TOOTH REGENERATION GEL COULD REPLACE PAINFUL FILLINGS
Could this new gel be the biggest dental breakthrough since the introduction of fluoride?
http://news.discovery.com/tech/tooth-regeneration-gel.html
By Eric Bland
Mon Jun 28, 2010
THE GIST
A new gel could soon eliminate painful fillings and root canals.
The technology doesn't prevent cavities; it heals teeth by regenerating them.
Although this is good news for teeth, the research could also be applied to heal bones and other tissues in the body.
Dentists could soon hang up their drills. A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or a thin, flexible film and placed next to a cavity, encourages cells inside teeth to regenerate in about a month, according to a new study in the journal ACS Nano. This technology is the first of its kind.
The new gel or thin film could eliminate the need to fill painful cavities or drill deep into the root canal of an infected tooth.
"It's not like toothpaste," which prevent cavities, said Nadia Benkirane-Jessel, a scientist at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale and a co-author of a recent paper. "Here we are really trying to control cavities (after they develop)."
Drilling teeth and filling them is safe and effective. Dentists fill millions of cavities each year across the United States
The new research could make a trip to the dentist's office more pleasant, said Berkirane-Jessel. Instead of a drill, a quick dab of gel or a thin film against an infected tooth could heal teeth from within.
Cavities are bacteria and pus-filled holes on or in teeth which can lead to discomfort, pain and even tooth loss. When people eat acidic foods, consume sugary snacks or simply don't maintain proper oral hygiene, bacteria begin to eat away at the protective enamel and other minerals inside teeth.
The causes of cavities are varied. But for most cavities, the treatment is the same: drilling into a tooth, removing the decay and filling in the hole to prevent further damage.
The gel or thin film contains a peptide known as MSH, or melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Previous experiments, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy
Bone and teeth are fairly similar, so the French scientists reasoned that if the MSH were applied to teeth, it should help healing as well.
To test their theory, the French scientists applied either a film or gel, both of which contained MSH, to cavity-filled mice teeth. After about one month, the cavities had disappeared, said Benkirane-Jessel.
Benkirane-Jessel cautions that the MSH-containing films or gels only treat cavities; they don't prevent them. People will still need to brush, floss and use mouthwash to help prevent cavities from forming in the first place.
Treating cavities without drilling "would have its advantages," said Hom-Lay Wang, a dentist at the University of Michigan
That said, regenerating a tooth from within would only be useful in a relatively small number of cases. Most cavities would still need to be drilled and filled.
In the meantime, patients can't slacken their oral hygiene either. Numerous clinical trials over several years will have to be completed before the MSH-containing gels or films are available to treat cavities in humans.
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