Scientists Develop New Regenerative Tooth Fillings by Stimulating Stem Cells

Scientists from the University of Nottingham and Harvard University have developed new regenerative dental fillings capable of healing itself, potentially preventing the need of painful and damaging root canal procedures.

At present, dentists use the root canal procedure to remove inflamed or infected pulp caused by deep decay, repeated dental procedures on the tooth, faulty crown or chipped tooth. The procedure can save a tooth, but it will be no longer served by nerve or blood vessels, which can potentially lead to losing the tooth that was saved.

During root canal procedures, the inflamed or infected pulp is removed and the inside of the tooth is carefully cleaned and disinfected, then filled and sealed with a rubber-like material called gutta-percha. The tooth is restored using a crown of fillings for added protection.

In the newly developed treatment, regenerative dental fillings were used to replace the cavities that were drilled in the tooth. By substituting the common fillings made with porcelain, a tooth-colored filling material, gold or other metal alloys, the risk of the pulp being inflamed or infected is reduced, which in turn can prevent the need for root canal procedures.

"Existing dental fillings are toxic to cells and are therefore incompatible with pulp tissue inside the tooth," explained Adam Celiz, a Marie Curie research fellow at the University of Nottingham, in a report from Newsweek. "In cases of dental pulp disease and injury a root canal is typically performed to remove the infected tissues.

The new regenerative fillings consist of a material capable of stimulating the native stem cell population in the pulp tissue to repair and regenerate itself and the surrounding dentin.

The new dental fillings won the second prize in the materials category in the Emerging Technologies competition of the Royal Society of Chemistry. It will still take a long time for the new treatment to be commercially available. However, researchers are working hard with their partners to make the regenerative dental fillings possible.