[HN Gopher] New gel restores dental enamel and could revolutioni...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       New gel restores dental enamel and could revolutionise tooth repair
        
       Author : CGMthrowaway
       Score  : 220 points
       Date   : 2025-11-05 19:44 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nottingham.ac.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nottingham.ac.uk)
        
       | timenotwasted wrote:
       | I feel like I've been reading this exact same article for the
       | last 15 years.. I find it very difficulty to parse what is real
       | and what is vaporware in the medical breakthroughs community.
        
         | lloydatkinson wrote:
         | - HIV/AIDs
         | 
         | - Cancer
         | 
         | - Tooth regrowth
         | 
         | It feels like it won't ever be done for some reason
        
           | foxandmouse wrote:
           | + Male birth control
           | 
           | + Alzheimer's cure
           | 
           | + Hair regrowth
        
             | scottlamb wrote:
             | + weight loss pills
             | 
             | ...they were persistent vaporware or scams, then suddenly
             | they were real and everywhere. Hopefully that happens for
             | the others too?
        
               | fallat wrote:
               | Have we solved anything? /s
        
               | palmotea wrote:
               | > + weight loss pills
               | 
               | They've had those for decades. It's called meth.
        
               | doubled112 wrote:
               | Coffee and cigarettes for a safer but less effective
               | solution.
        
               | nkmnz wrote:
               | Cigarettes are no way safer than small doses of
               | amphetamines. Check where the name "Ritalin" came from!
        
             | paulpauper wrote:
             | Cancer immunotherapy . Only works in a handful of cases
        
           | ajoseps wrote:
           | i thought the first two have had huge improvements in the
           | last decade?
        
             | trenchpilgrim wrote:
             | HIV has become a manageable disease in my lifetime. The
             | main issue today is access to medication as I understand
             | it.
        
               | toomuchtodo wrote:
               | _The first widespread cure for HIV could be in children_
               | - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44765981 - August
               | 2025
               | 
               |  _One-and-done HIV protection in infants_ -
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44736988 - July 2025
               | (First author of the paper even commented here at the
               | time: "labanimalster - First author here. We solved a
               | 30-year problem in gene therapy by leveraging neonatal
               | immune tolerance. A single AAV vector injection encoding
               | HIV antibodies achieved 89% success in newborns vs 33% in
               | 2-year-olds, with protection lasting through adolescence.
               | This could transform HIV prevention in regions where
               | maintaining regular medical care is challenging. Happy to
               | answer questions about the science or implications.")
               | 
               |  _US FDA approves Gilead 's twice-yearly injection
               | [lenacapavir] for HIV prevention_ -
               | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44312729 - June 2025
        
             | ashleyn wrote:
             | HIV prevention has been reduced to a twice a year shot
             | given mainly to MSM. It's pretty damn close to the original
             | goal of a vaccine.
        
             | agumonkey wrote:
             | it might be slow exponential thing, 60 years of low to
             | medium improvements in cancer, and hopefully suddenly a few
             | big cracks to turn it into a chronic liveable condition (or
             | maybe cure it).
             | 
             | there are more articles about advanced tumors being shrunk
             | to nothing than before (based on my personal monitoring)
        
           | tootie wrote:
           | While a cure remains elusive, HIV treatment is now extremely
           | effective. Antiretroviral shots can keep people symptom free
           | indefinitely.
           | 
           | Cancer treatment varies by type of cancer but many have
           | dramatically improved outcomes.
        
           | toyg wrote:
           | - hair regrowth
        
           | EvanAnderson wrote:
           | Tooth regrowth is something I was really hoping for. I abused
           | one of my molars. After years of efforts (repeated fillings,
           | a crown) to stave off losing the tooth it finally had to come
           | out last month. Now I'm waiting for the bone graft to "take"
           | before getting an implant. I was hoping I'd waited long
           | enough for tooth regrowth to become "a thing" but I have not.
           | 
           | (Should have taken better care of it when I was younger and
           | not ignored the massive hole that was growing in it. Chalk it
           | up to a bad dental experience as a child and 25+ years of
           | avoiding dentists as a result...)
        
           | stefs wrote:
           | HIV/Aids have made huge progress and so did cancer. Also
           | "cancer" isn't a single disease, they're quite different.
        
           | alphager wrote:
           | Cancers have had extremely effective new treatments developed
           | for in the last ten years.
           | 
           | Depending on the type of cancer, we now have cures or
           | treatments that stave off death for years.
           | 
           | My wife has a rare type of cancer with not much research
           | thrown at it, and even her type of cancer went from a median
           | time of survival measured in months to several years.
        
         | richwater wrote:
         | Wait until you read that the scientific evidence for flossing
         | doesn't really confirm the promised benefits.
        
           | simonswords82 wrote:
           | Where? Source please?
        
           | muratsu wrote:
           | Wait what? Please share
        
           | loosescrews wrote:
           | Any chance you would be willing to summarize the research or
           | provide information on some relevant studies? I've always
           | been skeptical about flossing and would like to learn more.
        
             | abdullahkhalids wrote:
             | The wikipedia article [1] suggests that there is no strong
             | evidence for flossing being a good thing. However, that
             | might just be because experts have not updated the article.
             | 
             | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_floss#Efficacy
        
             | lakhim wrote:
             | enjoy https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/1465
             | 1858.CD...
        
             | derbOac wrote:
             | Meta-analysis suggests flossing doesn't affect tooth decay.
             | But it does seem to prevent gum disease.
        
           | Defletter wrote:
           | tbf, it does require a technique otherwise you risk just
           | pushing plaque underneath your gums
        
           | EvanAnderson wrote:
           | Fortunately there doesn't seem to be any harm from flossing.
           | At least from my anecdotal experience there are positive bad
           | breath ramifications. (I've also been conditioned, by
           | flossing regularly, to feel like my mouth is "cleaner" after
           | flossing, to the point that it feels bad if I don't.)
        
           | Alex3917 wrote:
           | This is the key issue. There is zero doubt whatsoever that
           | flossing is essential, and the fact that the empirical
           | evidence is equivocal shows the limitations of science to
           | prove even the most obvious things.
        
             | rpearl wrote:
             | I do floss, but I genuinely don't see that this is obvious.
             | You can do a lot of damage with mechanical force, to both
             | teeth and gums! Starting a flossing regimen after not
             | having one tends to cause pain--isn't that a signal to
             | stop? etc.
             | 
             | Furthermore, correlation is not causation and it could well
             | be the case that flossing is associated with better
             | outcomes without causing it. For example, people who can
             | afford to go to the dentist regularly are therefore
             | regularly told to floss. People who care about dental
             | health in general probably floss more, but also may be
             | doing other things, consciously or unconsciously, to
             | improve outcomes. Gut (and perhaps mouth) bacteria have
             | behavioral effects; perhaps flossing is _caused_ by having
             | healthy mouth bacteria!
             | 
             | (at least one study says mouthwash is better than floss.
             | That seems obvious to me! liquids are smaller than floss.)
        
           | byearthithatius wrote:
           | I hear so many counter-logical ideas proposed with
           | "scientific evidence". Poorly designed studies and P-Hacking
           | has ruined the publics trust in science. I highly doubt
           | flossing is a net negative for almost anyone.
        
           | lr4444lr wrote:
           | Many people are not honest about how much they floss, and
           | those who do often don't floss correctly. We have a well
           | understood mechanism for how tooth decay and gingivitis
           | happen, and it's clear clinically that flossing can address
           | these more effectively than brushing alone can. Furthermore,
           | the subjective reduction in bad breath means harmful oral
           | bacteria are reduced, which could have benefits beyond oral
           | health.
        
         | EvanAnderson wrote:
         | Same feeling here. Dental seems particularly fraught (though
         | maybe I just pay more attention to it out of interest). I know
         | the cycle time between press releases/hype and actual
         | application can be the better part of a decade, so I assume
         | that's coloring my perception too.
         | 
         | re: dental in particular - It seems like enamel regeneration
         | and stem-cell-based tooth replacement have both been in the
         | news year-after-year without applications actually coming to
         | market.
        
           | matthewfcarlson wrote:
           | Everyone knows that teeth are luxury bones in the US. The
           | market just isn't there for fancy treatments. The ultra-
           | wealthy just get their teeth replaced with perfect veneers
           | anyway.
        
             | iamacyborg wrote:
             | > The ultra-wealthy just get their teeth replaced with
             | perfect veneers anyway.
             | 
             | Na, that's the working class turkey teeth crowd.
        
           | thaumasiotes wrote:
           | > stem-cell-based tooth replacement
           | 
           | Really? This sounds more like someone's plan to get grants to
           | research stem cells than someone's plan to repair (or
           | replace) teeth.
           | 
           | We already have a natural ability to grow new teeth that
           | replace existing ones. Everybody does it... once. Where's the
           | research into getting it to happen again?
        
             | gus_massa wrote:
             | Theet formation is a very early procces, even before the
             | baby is born.
             | 
             | > _Primary (baby) teeth start to form between the sixth and
             | eighth week of prenatal development, and permanent teeth
             | begin to form in the twentieth week._
             | 
             | So it's probably too late for you.
        
         | elicash wrote:
         | While I 100% agree with what you wrote, I'd just add that it
         | does seem in my own dental visits over my lifetime that there
         | have been real advancements, too. But yes, I agree, hard for
         | non-expert to parse.
        
           | 0_____0 wrote:
           | Seeing SLA 3D printers at my dentist's office was pretty
           | cool. Apparently they use them for a variety of fixturing and
           | jigs, and have a workflow that includes a handheld scanning
           | unit that SLAMs to generate a solid model of the patient's
           | teeth.
        
             | limaoscarjuliet wrote:
             | I have 4 crowns, 2 done using moulds, 2 using the 3d
             | scanner. Same doc, same office. The moulded ones were ok
             | with some adjustments, but the 3d scanned ones were perfect
             | since day 1. I'm happy with the progress in dentistry.
        
         | CGMthrowaway wrote:
         | A similar approach was reported in 2019,[1] but that produced
         | thinner coatings, and the recovery of the architecture of inner
         | layers of enamel was only partial.
         | 
         | [1]https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaw9569
        
         | paulpauper wrote:
         | yup here is one from 2007
         | 
         | https://www.technologyreview.com/2007/02/22/272845/regrowing...
         | 
         | As it turns out, this is really hard to do. There are a lot
         | required of teeth: they have to be extremely durable to resist
         | repeated strain of chewing ,stay in the gums, not be rejected
         | by body, etc. It's little surprise progress has been so slow.
        
         | kangs wrote:
         | or, solid state batteries, graphene, fusion, quantum computers,
         | agi =)
        
         | PaulKeeble wrote:
         | Just 7% of studies that do a preliminary study on humans
         | actually get through phase 3 and get approved for use. This is
         | before even the preliminary point, its a tooth (or even a tooth
         | analogue) in a petri dish. No idea if the material will be safe
         | in a human mouth yet.
         | 
         | There is a lot of hyping of results in medicine papers in
         | general but its not really their fault. The entire academic
         | world is being forced to publish or die as governments look to
         | measure results from the science they instead get what is
         | measured and everyone has to embellish the importance of what
         | they found and always find positive results.
        
           | palmotea wrote:
           | > The entire academic world is being forced to publish or die
           | as governments look to measure results from the science they
           | instead get what is measured and everyone has to embellish
           | the importance of what they found and always find positive
           | results.
           | 
           | It sounds like they're running it like a business.
        
             | dlcarrier wrote:
             | Over time, any large business trends to increase in bloat
             | and inefficiency, and focusing on inappropriate metrics is
             | a big part of that.
             | 
             | This eventually leads to competitors taking over and those
             | business failing, which usually results in people losing
             | their jobs.
             | 
             | When governments get equally incapable, and competitors
             | take over, it tends to be a lot more violent.
        
               | palmotea wrote:
               | > This eventually leads to competitors taking over and
               | those business failing
               | 
               | It's important to note that "eventually" usually takes so
               | long that it might as well be forever.
        
               | autoexec wrote:
               | > This eventually leads to competitors taking over and
               | those business failing
               | 
               | If only that fairytale were true. In the real world
               | bloated inefficient companies bribe government, install
               | themselves into government agencies directly (regulatory
               | capture), and hire lobbyists to write laws which protect
               | them from pesky upstarts through unchecked anti-
               | competitive practices and anti-consumer regulation
               | allowing them to stay wealthy and in power forever while
               | killing off innovation and progress.
        
               | throwway120385 wrote:
               | A lot of this is the direct result of trying to run a
               | government like a business. If we instead left some
               | things that are unprofitable but important to government
               | then we'd probably get better results than having
               | businesses do those things expecting a profit. This was
               | the model in the 30's, 40's and 50's that led to the
               | "golden age" that people are now trying to recapture.
        
               | NoMoreNicksLeft wrote:
               | The 1940s you get for free, what with the war and all
               | nothing was ever going to be very tolerable. But what
               | about the 1930s is a "golden age" in your opinion? What
               | exactly is it from that era that you wish we had more of?
        
               | vlovich123 wrote:
               | The golden age people are trying to recapture is the
               | aftermath of a world war that decimated almost every
               | major power except the US and then the US happily rebuilt
               | everyone's economies in exchange for riches and power.
               | The 21st century looks very different and only really
               | MAGA folks are looking to rewind the clock as a way to
               | move forward.
        
         | curiouscats wrote:
         | Enamelon Toothpaste from the 1990s:
         | 
         | https://www.ebay.com/itm/127083185095
         | 
         | "proven to strengthen tooth enamel" I remember researching the
         | stock and deciding not to buy.
         | 
         | Patents from the 1990s
         | https://patents.justia.com/assignee/enamelon-inc
         | 
         | It seems the company is still around https://www.enamelon.com
        
           | omlet wrote:
           | Did you tried :D ?
        
         | kjkjadksj wrote:
         | It is probably tough getting investment because this is
         | ultimately cosmetic and not something covered by most dental
         | insurance. Existing repair is probably good enough and I'd
         | expect cheaper too.
        
         | caycep wrote:
         | I would say, maybe look at medical studies from the opposite
         | end, epidemiological studies look at factors that reduce
         | mortality/morbidity. Granted, it's less flashy, basically
         | vaccines, alcohol/tobacco reduction, increase in active
         | lifestyle, statins/ace inhibitors, monoclonals/oncology
         | fanciness. although someone who actually is an MPH can probably
         | correct me.
         | 
         | on the neuroscience side, off the top of my head, the most
         | impactful things have been better anticoagulants and preventive
         | care for stroke, monoclonal abs for autoimmune diseases like
         | MS/myasthenia, , certain stereotactic brain surgeries, and
         | such. But considering what ails most people, the overall
         | population effect probably is minuscule compared to say better
         | crash safety in automobiles.
        
         | mdtancsa wrote:
         | exact same reaction. I remember hearing about "regrowing teeth
         | through sound waves"... in 2006.
         | https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/dentist-engineer-team-up-to-...
         | Can't say I have heard it offered anywhere yet....
        
         | baxtr wrote:
         | This might be the dental equivalent of the "Groundbreaking New
         | Battery Tech" type of article.
        
         | wnevets wrote:
         | > I feel like I've been reading this exact same article for the
         | last 15 years.
         | 
         | I was about to comment the same thing, I feel like I've been
         | seeing this talked about since the 90s
        
       | avalys wrote:
       | Is this a commercial product that has been approved by a
       | regulator to make these claims? Amazing. Newsworthy.
       | 
       | Is this a press release from a university research group, as it
       | appears to be (the site is down)? Then it's nearly meaningless.
        
         | CGMthrowaway wrote:
         | https://www.newscientist.com/article/2502731-cavities-could-...
        
         | basch wrote:
         | You can buy the supplies and make nano silver flouride now,
         | relatively cheaply compared to dental work. If you have a non
         | corporate dentist, you could even ask them to apply it. The
         | basic mechanism has been used on teeth forever, and adding the
         | nano particles prevents the chemical from permanently staining
         | your teeth black or blue (which is why it hasnt ever been more
         | popular to begin with.)
         | 
         | https://fourthievesvinegar.org/tooth-seal/
        
       | ptrl600 wrote:
       | Well until this stuff comes out I'll keep using smuggled FDA-
       | unapproved Novamin toothpaste. Atonement for my neglect
        
         | ribosometronome wrote:
         | Sensodyne?
        
           | Waterluvian wrote:
           | I just learned about this 5 mins ago and did some basic
           | research. Here's what I found:
           | 
           | - Sensodyne Repair and Protect contains 'NovaMin' (possibly
           | only in some markets; check the ingredients!)
           | 
           | - NovaMin is the brand name for calcium sodium
           | phosphosilicate
           | 
           | - It reacts with saliva to form a physical layer of
           | hydroxyapatite on your teeth
           | 
           | - This layer blocks the tubules that trigger pain from
           | temperature and such
           | 
           | - It also supports remineralization (how exactly?)
        
             | paulgerhardt wrote:
             | Because it keeps coming up there is an anti-Novamin crowd
             | that says it's useless and Biomin is the true re-
             | enamelizer.
        
               | Waterluvian wrote:
               | Interesting. A very rudimentary web search begins
               | suggesting that Biomin is the more suspicious of the two.
               | It has a very weird Internet footprint of being this
               | somewhat obscure-looking expensive "Health" product. I
               | really can't find any recognizable sources on the product
               | name. Maybe the obscurity is part of the exotic allure
               | for some?
        
               | kelnos wrote:
               | I used BioMin F for about a year, and I think it did
               | _something_ , but I'm not sure I'm qualified to evaluate
               | its effectiveness.
               | 
               | Unfortunately it isn't actually available where I live
               | (US), and I had to buy it from Canada... from a shop that
               | hasn't had stock for more than a year now. I've tried
               | ordering from other countries, but haven't found anyone
               | else who will ship to the US.
               | 
               | I've tried the "BioMin Restore" toothpaste that _is_
               | available in the US, and I don 't feel like it's doing
               | much of anything, but... again, not sure I'm qualified to
               | evaluate.
        
             | BenjiWiebe wrote:
             | You have to get the European version of Sensodyne Repair
             | and Protect to get NovaMin. It's not in the US formulation.
        
               | Waterluvian wrote:
               | The Canadian version I just bought also seems to have 5%
               | NovaMin.
        
               | gregsadetsky wrote:
               | as the sibling comment notes, the Canadian version also
               | has it:
               | 
               | https://www.jeancoutu.com/en/shop/categories/personal-
               | care/o...
               | 
               | https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/Sensodyne-Repair-Protect-
               | Sensit...
        
               | shellfishgene wrote:
               | The German version also seems to have stannous fluoride
               | instead of NovaMin, like in the US.
        
               | nkmnz wrote:
               | Mine says "NovaMin" right on the front. There are
               | multiple types of Sensodyne.
               | 
               | Btw, what really drives me crazy is that Elmex sells
               | multiple different sorts of tooth paste with the colors
               | green and violett, each. How can a company confuse their
               | customers so much that they buy a tooth whitener paste
               | instead of a remineralizing one? Did the mistake twice...
        
             | mgiampapa wrote:
             | hydroxyapatite is a mineral like your tooth, that's how it
             | supports remineralization.
             | 
             | It's actually great stuff and works wonders for tooth
             | sensitivity above and beyond fluoride shellac. I also order
             | it from the more civilized world.
             | 
             | BioMin is available in the US and is similar, but I don't
             | find it works better and I don't like that it doesn't have
             | fluoride. (I live in an area without fluoride in the water)
        
             | tempest_ wrote:
             | Due to GSKs patents only repair and protect outside of the
             | US has novamin in it.
        
         | annoyingnoob wrote:
         | https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7068624
        
           | ptrl600 wrote:
           | Admittedly it's possible I've been bamboozled
        
           | Etheryte wrote:
           | I'm not sure what the takeaway is here? If I read that
           | correctly, they only found one study and just reported their
           | results? Is that because there are literally no studies on
           | this worldwide? I find that very hard to believe.
        
           | zerocrates wrote:
           | I know there's value to recording the selection process and
           | all that but it's a little funny to have a review that ends
           | up only including one study: at that point just give me a
           | link, not a paper.
        
         | roldie wrote:
         | How does NovaMin / calcium sodium phosphosilicate compare to
         | toothpaste with nanohydroxyapatite in it?
        
       | afavour wrote:
       | Is it Fuji 9?
        
       | Waterluvian wrote:
       | If anyone's a dentist or is close to one, I'd love to know
       | something I haven't found a satisfactory answer for online: if
       | the vast majority of cavities were "magically" cured over the
       | next few years, what impact would that have on the finances of
       | your practice?
       | 
       | I'm not suggesting there's a conscious conspiracy or anything
       | malicious. But I observe that incentives are weirdly aligned. I
       | wonder what this kind of thing would do to a very large industry
       | if all of a sudden some percentage of business disappeared. Is it
       | a large percentage? Would they pivot to more preventative
       | medicine? Would patients adopt a longer duration between
       | checkups?
        
         | umvi wrote:
         | I think there would just be fewer dentists. It's like asking
         | what would happen to the finances of weight loss clinics if
         | magically Americans weren't as obese.
        
         | elicash wrote:
         | I will say my dentists always try to convince me to floss more
         | often, regardless of any economic benefit they might have for
         | me to disregard my teeth.
         | 
         | I also would imagine cleanings aren't where the big money is in
         | the profession, but like you would be interested to hear from
         | actual dentists.
        
         | doubled112 wrote:
         | Not a dentist but I definitely couldn't see it going away. Also
         | curious to hear a more knowledgeable opinion.
         | 
         | There will always be accidents and need of non-cavity repairs.
         | As a kid I broke a healthy tooth eating Doritos. It didn't make
         | sense to my dentist either. I've broken a less healthy (but
         | repaired) tooth on a candy coated peanut, and one a Twizzler
         | Nib.
         | 
         | I grind my teeth, so everything is being worn and torn at a
         | higher rate. The mouth guard won't generate itself.
         | 
         | Hate to say it, but if I thought my teeth would stick around
         | longer, I'd probably be more likely to seek cosmetic fixes. I'm
         | apparently really hard on them or something.
        
       | byearthithatius wrote:
       | Poorly designed studies, materials proposed without insight into
       | ramifications and manufacturing, and P-Hacking has ruined the
       | publics trust in science. I blatantly just ignore any headline
       | like this now. Can't trust science anymore.... sad. How many new
       | "cancer cures" have been posted to Reddit and HN over the last
       | decade that never came to fruition.
       | 
       | Not to say doing the science and studying to find new approaches
       | is not beneficial. I just think we need to reconsider how we
       | communicate new research. Its like how CEOs hype up AI products
       | at this point. "This will change everything ..... potentially
       | maybe in twenty years (omitted)"
        
       | kazinator wrote:
       | Screw enamel; man-made materials are better.
       | 
       | If you ever get into any serious money, forget cars or houses:
       | have your teeth ripped out and replaced with artificial ones.
        
         | inglor_cz wrote:
         | An artificial crown may be better, but not the roots. Natural
         | teeth are fixed in the jaw in a very ingenious way that is
         | durable and somewhat flexible at the same time. Not so with
         | implants; the metal fuses with the bone in a hard way and
         | transmits all the shocks fully into the jaw.
        
           | sssilver wrote:
           | What are the disadvantages of having all the shocks go fully
           | into the jaw?
        
             | kelnos wrote:
             | Discomfort and pain, I would assume.
             | 
             | I wouldn't be surprised if this can, over time, also cause
             | damage to your jaw, and put extra stress on your jaw
             | muscles.
        
             | inglor_cz wrote:
             | Depending on the location, state of the bone and other
             | parameters, anything from mild discomfort to catastrophic
             | failure of the implant and a jaw fracture.
             | 
             | I have four implants, two in my lower jaw, two in my upper
             | jaw. My lower jaw is basically stone, an extremely hard
             | bone even by usual lower jaw standards; the dentists
             | (plural, as one was unable to finish the job) drilling into
             | it destroyed a few drilling bits doing so. I have never had
             | any problems with the lower jaw implants. That bone can
             | take almost anything in stride.
             | 
             | My upper jaw, on the other hand ... very delicate, just
             | enough bone left for the implants to work, and I learnt to
             | be careful about biting into anything harder with them.
        
         | candiddevmike wrote:
         | This is horrible advice. Do everything you can to keep your
         | original teeth, even partially with a crown is better than a
         | post or dentures. Nothing will perform as good, and the side
         | effects of dentures range from pain to liquid diet if/when your
         | gums can't support them.
        
         | basch wrote:
         | Wouldn't you rather reapply a coating that allows the base to
         | regrow, than have to constant get them ground out and replaced
         | as they accumulated small damage? Growth sounds way better than
         | static existence.
        
         | bombcar wrote:
         | Cribbins' dentures would beg to differ.
        
         | stronglikedan wrote:
         | My dad did that a couple of decades ago (we nicknamed him
         | Bionic Mouth), and now his body is rejecting almost all of it,
         | and he has to get even more advanced and expensive stuff to
         | replace it (on a fixed retirement income to boot).
        
           | m463 wrote:
           | That sounds like that movie "the breast men"
           | 
           | These doctors pioneered silicone breast implants.
           | 
           | Eventually side effects happened, and they tried to prevent
           | those patients from coming forward.
           | 
           | Later, it all came out... and all the patients just came back
           | to them and paid for breast upgrades to the next generation
           | saline implants.
        
       | Razengan wrote:
       | You know it's weird how we don't have a general "healing" gel
       | yet..
        
       | blobbers wrote:
       | Pretty sure I get re-targeted by ads for various versions of this
       | for weeks on end after I do a single google search for a new
       | toothpaste.
       | 
       | Usually the safety profiles of those companies are very very very
       | bad, but probably reference very good research.
        
       | t1234s wrote:
       | There is the potential of ability of people to regrow teeth
       | 
       | https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a66012157/hu...
       | regrowth-trials-japan/
       | 
       | This would highly disrupt the dental-industrial-complex
        
       | cormorant wrote:
       | EDIT: https://archive.is/MYBSe
       | 
       | Site is down, not in archive.org or archive.today. This Yandex
       | Cache link worked for me:
       | https://yandexwebcache.net/yandbtm?fmode=inject&tm=176237557...
        
       | kawfey wrote:
       | I just went down a rabbit hole researching a toothpaste that's
       | giving me constant ads. I went looking for reviews and ended up
       | posting a comment on /r/PeriodontalDisease -
       | https://old.reddit.com/r/PeriodontalDisease/comments/1bcna04...
       | 
       | TL;DR: EDTA is the magic ingredient that will annihilate the
       | disease-causing biofilm on your teeth & gums, especially when you
       | fund your own studies and spend the rest of your money made from
       | your overpriced toothpaste gel on marketing.
       | 
       | Just brush and floss 2x a day, and chew gum if you like to.
        
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