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'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

bbc.com

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Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#71

Post by systems »

MichailP wrote: post #62
brandon272 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually find these articles depressing because it seems like nothing like this ever ultimately comes to fruition. I'm guessing these "breakthroughs" have always been just around the corner. I recall having a conversation with my dentist almost 20 years ago about things that were up and coming that were about to make our lives a lot easier in terms of saving and strengthening and building tooth enamel but none of w…

I had a similar talk with my dentist, where I was optimistic about future and he put me back into reality. He took a piece of paper and started drawing tooth in its complexity - nerves, blood supply, several completely different and 'living' layers (somehow I pictured teeth as something rather simple, like a piece of hard stone inserted into gums), and then he said, do you think a simple chemical can rebuild all this…

do you think bits and bytes can run the global economy .. plus maybe its a complex chemical ..

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#72

Post by prostoalex »

MichailP wrote: post #62
brandon272 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually find these articles depressing because it seems like nothing like this ever ultimately comes to fruition. I'm guessing these "breakthroughs" have always been just around the corner. I recall having a conversation with my dentist almost 20 years ago about things that were up and coming that were about to make our lives a lot easier in terms of saving and strengthening and building tooth enamel but none of w…

I had a similar talk with my dentist, where I was optimistic about future and he put me back into reality. He took a piece of paper and started drawing tooth in its complexity - nerves, blood supply, several completely different and 'living' layers (somehow I pictured teeth as something rather simple, like a piece of hard stone inserted into gums), and then he said, do you think a simple chemical can rebuild all this…

To be fair, fillings don't rebuild the complexity either.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#73

Post by ChuckMcM »

slimsag wrote: post #3

This is insanely cool, and I imagine there is no need for me to explain how useful this would be in comparison to the current dental approaches today. But is this technology ever going to be available to consumers? I remember reading about similar advancements almost three years ago and haven't heard anything related until now. Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I think we won't see this in practice for a Very Long Time™.

I think this is cool research and I hope they can bring it to market but in the "its cool stage" it just makes it harder to convince your kids to brush :-)

Parent: "Brush your teeth or you will end up with all this dental work like I have."

Kid: "Nah, we'll have regrowable teeth by then."

FWIW, I got an implant a couple of years ago and talked to my dentist about these sorts of things. On the plus side an implant is known to work, will likely last beyond my death, makes my remains easier to identify is an obliteration scenario and is available today. The down side is that you can never regrow that tooth once you've sealed a tungsten post into your jawbone.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#74

Post by xbmcuser »

scoot wrote: post #25
nether wrote: post #17

Fusion, cheap solar cells, and this.

Battery tech - it's the next big thing that never was.

Battery tech is improving by about 20% every 2 years. Batteries that cost about $1000-1200 in 2009-10 are expected to cost now around $200-300 this year. We have been getting incremental improvements in price and capacity but most people don't notice.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#75

Post by antognini »

cowsandmilk wrote: post #45

Does anyone have good resources on non-behavioral factors that affect health of teeth? Growing up, I never brushed and did pretty much everything a dentist advises against. I never have had a cavity. With seemingly no consequences, it was extremely hard for me to find any motivation to change my behavior. I've often wondered whether there was something genetic, and today I wonder if maybe I won some microbiome lotter…

There's fundamentally one cause of enamel decay: acidity. Typically these acids are produced by bacteria in a person's mouth as a waste product. Over time these acids wear down the tooth and create cavities. But enamel can also be worn away by acidic foods and drinks like wine, coffee, and soda.

Different diets can change the flora of bacteria in a person's mouth, just as it changes the flora in a person's gut. The bacteria that produce a lot of acids generally consume simple carbohydrates, so diets rich in simple carbohydrates are correlated with the presence of cavities. Brushing and flossing prevents the simple carbohydrates from staying in the mouth for too long, which slows bacterial growth. A diet low in simple carbohydrates also inhibits bacterial growth. (It might be more accurate to say that the bacteria don't produce acids when consuming things other than simple carbohydrates --- I'm not sure.)

Mouth flora tends to be similar between members of a family. Parents pass their own flora on to their children, and over time the flora of spouses tends to become similar as well.

It's possible that your diet was conducive to good tooth health, or it's possible that you lucked out with your mouth flora, or both.

(I got a cavity a few years ago and ended up reading a bunch about tooth health. But I'm not a dentist, so there may be some inaccuracies or oversimplifications in my comment.)

Edit: I forgot to mention that some people naturally have more acidic saliva than others, which is also correlated with cavities. As far as I know, that's purely genetic.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#77

Post by stplsd »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #73
slimsag wrote: post #3

This is insanely cool, and I imagine there is no need for me to explain how useful this would be in comparison to the current dental approaches today. But is this technology ever going to be available to consumers? I remember reading about similar advancements almost three years ago and haven't heard anything related until now. Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I think we won't see this in practice for a Very Long Time™.

I think this is cool research and I hope they can bring it to market but in the "its cool stage" it just makes it harder to convince your kids to brush :-) Parent: "Brush your teeth or you will end up with all this dental work like I have." Kid: "Nah, we'll have regrowable teeth by then." FWIW, I got an implant a couple of years ago and talked to my dentist about these sorts of things. On the plus side an implant is…

I am only 30 years old and have shitty job, and half of my teeth are missing. Implants are my only hope so far. But compared to natural tooth, implants are so crude replacement. Fuck my life.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#78

Post by epimetheus »

brandon272 wrote: post #10
slimsag wrote: post #3

This is insanely cool, and I imagine there is no need for me to explain how useful this would be in comparison to the current dental approaches today. But is this technology ever going to be available to consumers? I remember reading about similar advancements almost three years ago and haven't heard anything related until now. Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I think we won't see this in practice for a Very Long Time™.

I actually find these articles depressing because it seems like nothing like this ever ultimately comes to fruition. I'm guessing these "breakthroughs" have always been just around the corner. I recall having a conversation with my dentist almost 20 years ago about things that were up and coming that were about to make our lives a lot easier in terms of saving and strengthening and building tooth enamel but none of w…

Do you have a site for this 20 years ago claim? The first I've seen is one about 10 years ago, in the UK.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#79

Post by NL807 »

advertising wrote: post #26
brandon272 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually find these articles depressing because it seems like nothing like this ever ultimately comes to fruition. I'm guessing these "breakthroughs" have always been just around the corner. I recall having a conversation with my dentist almost 20 years ago about things that were up and coming that were about to make our lives a lot easier in terms of saving and strengthening and building tooth enamel but none of w…

I remember reading an article about these scientists experimenting with blue light and the larger capacity to store data. ~15 years later blu-ray came out. All hope is not lost.

BluRay development had the advantage of leveraging on existing optical tech, such as DVDs. The leap wasn't really that monumental, most of the challenges had to do with laser technology.

Re: 'Tooth repair drug' may replace fillings

#80

Post by stplsd »

kalleboo wrote: post #59
hackits wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would of liked to been told `Nothing is going to come on the market` instead of `All this wonderful technology is going to solve any problems you're going to have`. The latter results in careless behavior, the former results more careful behavior. Personally as someone as a kid was going up out-back Australia who's parents and care giver didn't put fluoride tablets into the water because it caused the water to `tas…

Most of Europe and Japan doesn't fluoridate their water and they don't have notably worse dental outcomes. It really has to do with toothbrushing and diet. Water fluoridation is just a way to get to the people who refuse to brush their teeth.

I think genetics have a part too. My grandmother was deported to Siberia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_deportations_from_Lithu...) for 20 years where they have 200 grams of bread a day at best and never brushed her teeth in her life and never had a tooth filling or missing tooth before her retirement, and I have half my teeth missing and I am only 30 years old. Fuck my life.
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