Live data from Hacker News

Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

dental.washington.edu

301–310 of 364 posts

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I asked my dentist about novamin after it trended on HN a few months ago. Apparently every toothpaste brand has a number of proprietary compounds that, according to their own research, is the biggest thing since flouride. Sensodyne has Novamin, I don't know the name of Colgates, but I am sure they list it on one of their websites. Why HN has taken to Novamin, I don't know. Maybe it is because it was taken off the Ame…

"Sensodyne has Novamin" There is nothing like Novamin among other toothpaste brands. Novamin has long existed as a bone regeneration treatment, with a very proven mode of action. The inventor spun it off and GSK bought the company and made it exclusive to Sensodyne. This isn't a company that made some fun name on a method of fluoride. It doesn't exist formally in the US (or at least it didn't) because FDA rules would…

> but that there is a need for more clinical trials, which is an enormous difference.

Almost twenty years after this compound was developed into toothpaste, the best we can show in peer reviewed research is “inconclusive” when it’s used in toothpaste and you consider that a big win? I consider that “doesn’t seem to make much of a difference”.

Maybe it’s the novamin that helped you. Maybe it is one of the other compounds. Regular Sensodyne is a toothpaste for sensitive teeth, after all. Maybe you just started brushing more carefully. I did when I got my pack of “Sensodyne whitening repair & protect deep repair” toothpaste. That tube was almost double a regular Sensodyne, which is already an expensive brand.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#302

I've been drinking diet coke all day (about 3 liters/day) for many years, which causes my teeth to be less than white and also rather sensitive. Besides the coloring, I suspect that the enamel is being thinned down by the citric/phosphoric acid. I have no chronic pain, but the cosmetic aspect and the sensitivity bothers me. TFA sounds like that treatment could help. Any other recommendations for my situation? I can't…

What about switching to seltzer you can mix with caffeine powder? If you look you should be able to find a “cola” flavored one which while not the same should at least be an approximation. From some quick googling it appears seltzer still has carbonic acid which ain’t great for your teeth but it’s not as bad as regular soda’s acid-combo [1]. [1] https://espiredental.com/is-seltzer-really-bad-for-your-teet...

Thanks. I googled for cola-flavored caffeine powder, but couldn't find anything. Do you have an example?

The caffeine content of Coke is relatively low (only about a third or fourth of coffee, and lower than other cola products), which makes it practical for me to sip it all day. I guess I'm as much addicted to the taste as to the caffeine.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#303

A whole dental line has been available in Germany for years - Apacare [0]. [0]: https://www.apacare.com/

The results for hydroxyapatite seem to be mixed, some studies have found it has no statistically significant benefit over fluoride toothpaste [0], while others have found some benefit [1][2]. Interesting none the less, thanks for linking to it.

[0] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41405-019-0026-8

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25019114/

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5121804/

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#305
post #92
post #31

> In addition, the researchers are investigating a gel or solution with the engineered peptide to treat hypersensitive teeth. This problem results from weakness in the enamel that makes the underlying dentin and nerves more vulnerable to heat or cold. Most common products currently on the market can put a layer of organic material on the tooth and numb nerve endings with potassium nitrate, but the relief is only temp…

Although I haven't personally tried it, I have friends outside of the US that rave about Sensodyne Repair & Protect original with the "Powered by NovaMin" badging. NovaMin is composed of special ceramic particles that coat the teeth with a compound that reacts with the saliva to form a durable physical barrier. The problem is that the stuff with NovaMin is not typically available in the US. I just searched Amazon and…

I just bought 3 small tubes for $9 on Amazon, seemingly coming from Canada. I bought some previously from an Amazon seller in India, and have been using it for a few weeks. It seems to be working - teeth are less sensitive.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Sensodyne has Novamin" There is nothing like Novamin among other toothpaste brands. Novamin has long existed as a bone regeneration treatment, with a very proven mode of action. The inventor spun it off and GSK bought the company and made it exclusive to Sensodyne. This isn't a company that made some fun name on a method of fluoride. It doesn't exist formally in the US (or at least it didn't) because FDA rules would…

> but that there is a need for more clinical trials, which is an enormous difference. Almost twenty years after this compound was developed into toothpaste, the best we can show in peer reviewed research is “inconclusive” when it’s used in toothpaste and you consider that a big win? I consider that “doesn’t seem to make much of a difference”. Maybe it’s the novamin that helped you. Maybe it is one of the other compou…

Big win? I didn't say that. Your original citation was an analysis of studies that actually said "more research is necessary", yet you claimed it as proof that it doesn't work. It doesn't work like that.

Novamin is caught in a classic consumer product study quagmire. It's a proprietary, IP-wrapped solution. This leaves extraordinarily few people with an interest in proving its efficacy. Who is going to pay to study it? And the answer is that only people with a strong financial interest in its effectiveness are willing to study it, and those studies have little credibility due to bias.

The vast majority of consumer products you use have no peer reviewed research behind them for the same reason.

But we know its method of function, and the theory behind its operation. People using the product often find reduced sensitivity (I went from really bad sensitivity to no sensitivity) and a whitening effect. Eh, good enough for me.

And it's interesting that this submission is about a product that has a virtually identical method of operation - calcium and phosphorous ions.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#307

Through the decades, many have claimed they solved the tooth decay problem. Nobody ever shipped a product, let alone a working one. This is the next one in the series so long I feel extremely skeptical. Even if it actually works it will probably cost some crazy money (part of which will hopefully go to a fund to support millions of jobless dentists /s). Nevertheless I'm glad this popped up here anyway.

This isn't so much a prevention of tooth decay as it is a contribution to the hydroxyapatite crystal structure in a non-regenerable part of your tooth.

Could you please explain? What is a non-regenerable part of a tooth and what is a regenerable part of it? Why repairing its crystal structure is not a prevention of its decay?

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#308

> The lozenge produces new enamel that is whiter than what tooth-whitening strips or gels produce. I wonder how white? I'm a bit nervous about having those over-whitened glow-in-the-dark teeth, that you sometimes see. Memories of that Friends episode, too.

I have an A1 shade teeth, keeping them any whiter is hard work.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#309
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely enjoy it more. Brewed coffee started tasting like stewed coffee or something, the americanos just have a 'cleaner' hit...i don't know. The weird thing is I find pourover to be more like espresso than brewed in that way, so it's probably just all in my head lol. Anyway, point is I only drink one cup a day now and have become a closet coffee snob.

Pourover is more like espresso too. Almost the same mechanism, but espresso also uses pressure. And even though snobs will disagree, french press will be closer in flavor but “muddier”. Drip is pretty much the worst because it starts reheating your already perfectly good coffee before it’s even done. Welcome to the snobbery! I went from “I refuse to order a coffee with more than two words” to super opinionated and pi…

I use an Aeropress every morning and it does the job, can tell the difference between the aeropress and store bought drinks.

Re: Trials begin on lozenge that rebuilds tooth enamel

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is all almost totally incorrect. French press "muddiness" is not invariant but rather a function of filter size and type. It's the equivalent of steak doneness, use the appropriate equipment for the result you want. Espresso is fundamentally different than pour-over. Pour-over is only using atmospheric pressure and espresso is about only not using atmospheric pressure. Pour-over is closer to drip than espresso.…

> French press "muddiness" is not invariant but rather a function of filter size and type. It's the equivalent of steak doneness, use the appropriate equipment for the result you want. I don’t think this contradicts anything I said. > Espresso is fundamentally different than pour-over. Pour-over is only using atmospheric pressure and espresso is about only not using atmospheric pressure. To clarify, I meant that the…

Thoughts on aeropress vs espresso machine quality?
Post reply on HN