Synthetic Enamel Similar to the Natural Tooth Enamel
Scientists from Beihang University, the Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology and the Michigan Institute of Translational Nanotechnology produced a synthetic enamel. Such Synthetic enamel as similar properties to natural tooth enamel.
Article published in the journal Science. Its title: Multiscale engineered artificial tooth enamel, Science (2022). The article illustrates how well the new synthetic material compare to natural enamel when tested.
Synthetic Enamel: Why is it important?
Tooth decay has been part of our struggle for thousands of years, long before the field of dentistry arose. There has been much progress made in the field of material engineering. However, one main area of advance has been behind. And that is replacing of enamel when it is damaged or starts to wear away. In this new effort, the researchers created an enamel analogue to the natural. They suggest it might in the future be used to replenish the enamel on human teeth.
“Prior research has shown that the reason that human enamel is so strong and yet also slightly elastic is that it consists of tiny rods. Such rods are made of calcium that is packed tightly together like pencils in a box.” Said the article.
In their new effort, the researchers attempted to mimic tooth enamel as closely as possible. This consisted in producing material using AIP-coated hydroxyapatite nanowires. The nanowires were aligned in parallel using a freezing technique that involved applying polyvinyl alcohol.
Testing The New Enamel
according to the article “Scientists applied the enamel to several shapes, including human teeth. And then tested how well it performed. They realized it had a high degree of stiffness, was strong and was also slightly elastic. They also noticed that on most of their tests, the synthetic enamel outperformed natural enamel.”
The Scientists plan to maintain testing their material to make sure it will hold up under harsh environments such as those found in the human mouth. “They will also have to show that it is safe for use in humans and that it can be mass-produced. It was noted that if their enamel passes all such tests, it could be used in more than just dentistry. They suggest it could be used to coat pacemakers, for example, or to shore up bones. As those bones that have been damaged or that have eroded due to use or disease.” added the article.
Read the original article on Phys.org
Reference: Hewei Zhao et al, Multiscale engineered artificial tooth enamel, Science (2022). DOI: 10.1126/science.abj3343
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