In the Headlines | They are developing a gel that repairs teeth

The fillings and the caries, it is soon finished? Perhaps … According to a study published Friday in ScienceAdvances, the enamel of our teeth, which protects them, can now be repaired by the application of a special gel developed by a team of researchers at the university from Zhejiang to China.

Scientists have manufactured a paste containing calcium and phosphate, the basic elements of real enamel, to try to induce teeth to self-repair.

"They tested the gel by applying it to human teeth removed from the patients and damaged by acid, and then left the teeth in fluid containers designed to mimic the environment of the mouth for 48 hours" explain the magazine "New scientist" (in English).

An "effective treatment" of enamel erosion

The product stimulated the growth of a new enamel: "The PAH layer (the hydroxylapatite mineral substance that hardens dental enamel, Ed.) Recently reconstituted by remineralization by epitaxy can be integrated into the enamel native so that the repair is permanent, and this process can be developed as an effective treatment of enamel erosion in clinical practice "they observe in their conclusions.

The researchers will now test this gel in mice and, if the test is conclusive, on humans. They will have to make sure that the chemicals in the dough are safe and that the enamel can form in the real environment of the mouth, that is, even when people eat and drink, for example.