PUBLISHED IN TCI WEEKLY NEWS
28th June 2014
With the rising popularity of general cosmetic procedures for the entire body, there has also been an increase in cosmetic dental procedures and new technologies are in development to enhance this area. There has recently been discussion in the UK press about a new technology in development which is hoping to replace traditional fillings and works by encouraging the teeth to repair themselves. Sounds like a good idea, I think! This idea is still in development (at least three years from launch) but it’s an interesting concept to consider and one that may benefit the health of the teeth as well as the aesthetic appearance.
The new treatment, called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation (EAER), accelerates the natural movement of calcium and phosphate minerals into the damaged tooth and is actually being developed at King’s Colllege London, the university at which I studied.
At the moment, the current practice for treating tooth decay is to remove the decay by drilling, after which the cavity is filled with a material such as amalgam (metal) or composite (‘white’ tooth-coloured) resin. Professor Nigel Pitts, from the London University’s Dental Institute, said: ‘The way we treat teeth today is not ideal. When we repair a tooth by putting in a filling, that tooth enters a cycle of drilling and re-filling as, ultimately, each repair fails. Not only is our device kinder to the patient and better for their teeth, but it’s expected to be at least as cost-effective as current dental treatments.’
A two-step process first prepares the damaged area of enamel, then uses a tiny electric current to push minerals into the site to be repaired. If successful, this treatment would make the use of drilling as part of the filling process obsolete. (For many patients the whirring and grinding noise of the drill is enough to evoke fear and even enough prevent them from coming to the dentist in the first place.) The hope is that the new technology would also require no anesthetic, therefore eliminating another factor that some patients find scary- the injection.
The idea still has several years of development yet and then has to be made into a commercial format that dentists can use. However, we’ll wait with interest to see how this technology develops.
