Painless Dental Fillings Just Got A 'Hole' Lot Closer

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Dental News
French researchers have developed a gel that they say can help decayed teeth grow back in just weeks, a method that could very soon put an end to traditional dental fillings used to fill holes left by teeth that have decayed.

The gel works by prompting cells in teeth to start multiplying as it contains a hormone that a team of scientists at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Paris tested to see if it could stimulate tooth growth. Their findings were published in the American Chemical Society journal.

Pulp Fiction For Dentists
The researchers rubbed the gel on dental pulp fibroblasts taken from human tooth tissue and found that the gel triggered growth of new cells and adhered to each other. Earlier, they experimented with the gel on mice with dental cavities and the cavities disappeared within one month. It took the same amount of time to restore the human samples to form healthy new tooth tissue.

Although the researchers claim that practical applications of this gel won't be available for three to five years, teeth that are treated with this gel will look just like your original; essentially you'll have a brand new tooth.

Not So Fast, Frenchies
However, not all dental experts are excited about the new gel and those people who think that this will eventually replace going to the dentist to get a filling have 'missed the point,' according to Dr. David Pashley, a professor at the Medical College of Georgia who has published more than 500 papers in peer-reviewed dental journals.

"(The media) blew this research out of proportion (making it sound like) it’s the biggest thing since fluoride. Not really," Pashley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dr. Pashley went on to say that this type of tissue engineering will eventually work, but the process will take some time. He doesn’t expect any sort of whiz-bang replacement for traditional dental fillings for another five or 10 years.

In short, Pashley said there’s not an easy fix for cavities, which happen when bacteria invade a tooth’s enamel and dentin. "You can’t just squirt a gel or put something in a cavity and hope something works," he said.

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