Gel Could Help Repair Cavities

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A new gel could take the place of painful root canals and tooth fillings , according to Discovery News.

A new peptide is embedded into a soft, thin, flexible gel and placed next to a cavity. The journal ACS Neno, said this lets cells inside the tooth generate in about a month.

"It's not like toothpaste," said Nadia Benkirane-Jessal, a scientist at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale who co-authored a recent paper on the gel. She said toothpaste helps prevent cavities.

"Here we are really trying to control cavities (after they develop)."

Thaindian News said the gel was applied to teeth of mice that were filled with cavities . A month later they were healed.

Benkirane-Jessel said the gel contains a peptide, melanocyte-stimulating hormone capable of healing the cavity from within. The peptide, MSH, has been shown in previous experiments to encourage bone regeneration.

According to Discovery News, the scientist cautioned that the gel only treats cavities. It doesn't prevent them, which means people still need to brush, floss and use mouthwash to help keep cavities from forming.

Hom-Lay Wang, a dentist at the University of Michigan, told Discovery that regenerating a tooth could help avoid crowns after a cavity is filled.

The procedure, however, would only be useful in a small number of cases. Most cavities would need to be drilled and filled.

There will also likely need to be clinical trials over several years before such a gel is available.