A synthetic enamel for rapid tooth repair

Senawangse, Pisol · Nature

3 min read Original article ↗
  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Materials chemistry

Nature volume 433, page 819 (2005) Cite this article

Seamless fixing of an early caries lesion can be achieved without prior excavation.

Abstract

The conventional treatment of dental caries involves mechanical removal of the affected part and filling of the hole with a resin or metal alloy1,2,3,4. But this method is not ideal for tiny early lesions5,6 because a disproportionate amount of healthy tooth must be removed to make the alloy or resin stick. Here we describe a dental paste of synthetic enamel that rapidly and seamlessly repairs early caries lesions by nanocrystalline growth, with minimal wastage of the natural enamel.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 52 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.83 per issue

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Repair of an early caries lesion using a synthetic enamel paste.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Raskin, A., Michotte-Theall, B., Vreven, J. & Wilson, N. H. F. J. Dent. 27, 13–19 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Wilson, N. H. F. & Mjor, I. A. J. Dent. 28, 15–21 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Carvalho, R. M., Pereira, J. C., Yoshiyama, M. & Pashley, D. H. Oper. Dent. 21, 17–24 (1996).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hilton, T. J. Am. J. Dent. 15, 198–210 (2002).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Frank, R. M. & Brendel, A. Archs Oral Biol. 11, 883–912 (1966).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Johnson, N. W. Caries Res. 1, 356–369 (1967).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Elliot, J. C. (ed) Structure and Chemistry of the Apatites and Other Calcium Orthophosphates (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994).

  8. Gerould, H. J. Dent. Res. 24, 223–233 (1945).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Duschner, H., Gotz, H. & Ogaard, B. Eur. J. Oral Sci. 105, 466–472 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Onuma, K. & Ito, A. Chem. Mater. 10, 3346–3351 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Banfield, J. F., Welch, S. A., Zhang, H., Ebert, T. T. & Penn, R. L. Science 289, 751–754 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Yamagishi, K. & Suzuki, T. J. Esthetic Dent. 7, 78–80 (1995).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. FAP Dental Institute, 3-2-1, Kakinokizaka, 502 Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-0022, Japan

    Kazue Yamagishi

  2. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Institute for Human Science and Biomedical Engineering, Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566, Japan

    Kazuo Onuma

  3. Department of Applied Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yamanashi University, 43-11, Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi, 400-8511, Japan

    Takashi Suzuki & Fumio Okada

  4. Department of Restorative Science, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 5-45, Yushima 1-chome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8549, Japan

    Takashi Suzuki, Junji Tagami, Masayuki Otsuki & Pisol Senawangse

Authors

  1. Kazue Yamagishi
  2. Kazuo Onuma
  3. Takashi Suzuki
  4. Fumio Okada
  5. Junji Tagami
  6. Masayuki Otsuki
  7. Pisol Senawangse

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kazue Yamagishi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

About this article

Cite this article

Yamagishi, K., Onuma, K., Suzuki, T. et al. A synthetic enamel for rapid tooth repair. Nature 433, 819 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/433819a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/433819a