Scientists have come up with a new way to treat tooth sensitivity
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new treatment that could restore lost tooth minerals, which would solve the problem of dentin hypersensitivity.Tooth sensitivity, also known as dentin hypersensitivity, occurs when the inner dentin layer of a tooth and the tubules within it are exposed, most often due to the loss of protective enamel on the crown and "cementum" on the root of the tooth during the demineralization process. When the softer interior of the tooth is exposed, nerves and blood vessels tend to react to heat, cold, touch, pressure, or acidic foods, causing pain.
Enamel can thin due to a multitude of factors, such as bruxism - grinding your teeth. The problem is that it cannot be restored by natural processes, as it is the only non-living tissue in our body. In recent years, the rise in popularity of peroxide-based teeth whitening products has exacerbated the problem of enamel wear and tear. Currently, the only way to treat dentin hypersensitivity is to treat the symptoms.
But researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new treatment that can restore lost tooth minerals, which would solve the problem of dentin hypersensitivity.
The researchers' goal was to develop a biomimetic, something that resembles or mimics the natural biochemical processes that occur in the body. So they focused on a peptide - a short chain of amino acids - key to the biological development of human teeth. They named it sADP5 and it binds to calcium and phosphate ions, the main minerals in teeth. And then - uses them to create a new mineral micro-layer.
In preclinical trials, the researchers created a cough-lollipop-sized lozenge with a core of calcium and phosphate coated with a flavoring infused with sADP5. It was tested on dentin disks extracted from human teeth. Each of the disks had exposed dentin tubules. After three cycles of peptide-controlled remineralization, the researchers completed the formation of a new mineral layer on the exposed dentin, which spread to the dentinal tubules, plugging them.