New 'painless' treatment to repair teeth | Hacker News Reader

New 'painless' treatment to repair teeth

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

105 pointsamalag41 comments

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Looks like it is not very new, there are other articles on it:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech...

Here is the medical paper http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23112478

Here is the patent http://www.google.com/patents/US20120231422

And this is the picture worth a thousand words http://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/US20120231422A1/U...

Thanks!

More bad journalism about medical research. Why is this so hard? Is it that the reporter simply cannot understand it? Or it is purposely distorted to make it more appealing to readers? I think it is usually a combination of both of these reasons.

"..misunderstandings and neglect create more confusion in this world than trickery and malice. At any rate, the last two are certainly much less frequent." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I completely agree that ignorance and laziness are much more representative of humane behavior than deceit and evil. And I believe it is just good practice to always assume the best intentions in others for your own peace and happiness.

However in this case the 'painless' claim which is the most appealing element of the story appears to have been made up - it appears nowhere in the longer article, abstract or patent.

Sorry about this, but you mean 'human' instead of 'humane', right?

Right I meant "human" - sorry for the typo, too late to fix now.

Having had root canal in the past, this doesn't seem particularly helpful.

The drilling and cleaning is the painful and time-consuming part.

The actual sealing it up at the end was relatively trivial in comparison (from my perspective).

I think the article got it wrong with the "painless" part. I am also confused with the claim that it is non-surgical. It does seem similar to a regular root canal, but the issue that many people have with root canals is that they drill out infected nerve tissues and fill it with something inert. They do not let the nerve pulp heal and some say the tooth is now "dead". The bacterial infection is cleaned out, but there are often fears that the infection has not been fully dealt with.

I believe the point of this technique is allowing the internals of the tooth to heal, which root canals do not do.

I think that's the point of this treatment, too.

It's like the difference between a saw plus a wooden leg and antibiotics plus stitches after a wound to the leg.

But of course, that's only if it works and doesn't have bad side effects (anything stimulating growth runs the risk of cancer, for example)

Just out of curiosity, didn't they deaden your nerve befor they went in and drilled and cleaned it? Once that did that for me, it was no more painful than getting a cavity filled...

You get anaesthesia, then the nerve in the tooth is basically ripped out. Then comes cleaning and shaping the root canal which for me at least often was painful when the file basically poked into the tissue (and nerve) underneath the tooth. That's also the part that hurt for weeks after I had the procedure.

Yeah they put a full block in my jaw the first time they drilled, but subsequent sessions were just a small injection around the tooth. Could still feel a certain amount of discomfort, eventually a bit of pain when the anaesthetic wore off. At which point they reapplied the injection.

I prefer it that way, can't stand the huge nerve blocks as they ruin a good 4-5 hours of your day.

A little more skepticism:

> Instead of filling the root canal with artificial materials that may pose bio-compatibility problems

Gutta-percha[1] is what is traditionally used to fill the empty canals. It is used because of its bio-compatibility and inertness. The most common complication of a root canal procedure is inadequate cleaning of the canals and related tissues, not bad apical sealing.

1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha

Not to be dismissive, but there are a lot of claims in this article that are difficult to assess.

That's because it's a news article, not a research paper.

Some news articles are kind enough to mention the journal results like those claimed here originally appeared in.

I see some helpful links in other comments now too though.

> repair teeth

This is not reparing. Repairing would assume that afterwards you've got the same features as before, but replacing nerves and blood vessels with plastic (or in this case, regular tissue) doesn't really provide the same features as before.

I'd like to see much more the possibility to replace teeth with ones you've generated from your own stem cells.

That research is progressing rapidly:

https://singularityhub.com/2013/08/26/scientists-grow-teeth-...

I have a high risk of cavities due to my genetics, am 31, and my teeth are falling apart even with a high level of care (brushing 2-3 times/day, flossing, baking soda rinse after meals to return mouth ph to baseline quickly). I'll be happy to pay for replacement teeth grown from my own cells when available.

Have you tried Xylitol[1]? I use it to sweet my tea instead of regular sugar. And it should return your mouth ph fast, instead of rinsing with baking soda with doesn't sound nice.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol#Dental_care

I haven't, but I'll buy a bag from Amazon today. Thank you.

be careful, I use xylitol regularly for the same reasons but I find that it makes me tired and fuzzy if I take the same amount as sugar. I have suffered a lot with teeth problems since a child, but now at close to 40 I have managed to stabilize oral health and haven't had a cavity in more than 10 years. There are new toothpastes in the market that combine remineralizing agents besides fluoride and they seem to work for me. I like Biorepair the best, but I find the Novamin based toothpastes OK as well. The key is to not let the ph drop too low ( avoid acidic foods ) and to rinse after acid attacks instead of brushing as the mechanical abrasion from brushing combined with the previous acid attack can damage your teeth.

Good luck, teeth problems suck.

Also consider checking out products with Erythritol (eg Sobe Zero):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol

"Erythritol has been certified as tooth-friendly. The sugar alcohol cannot be metabolized by oral bacteria, so does not contribute to tooth decay. Erythritol exhibits some, but not all, of xylitol's tendency to "starve" harmful bacteria. Unlike xylitol, erythritol is actually absorbed into the bloodstream after consumption but before excretion. However, it is not clear at present if the effect of starving harmful bacteria occurs systemically."

"Erythritol More Potent Than Xylitol Against Dental Caries"

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/766577

Have you looked into having your teeth sealed (like they often do for children teeth)? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_sealant

I had a bunch of teeth sealed and years later cavities started to appear underneath the seals, which were hard to clean because of the seals. So sealing didn't turn out to be that much of a holy grail.

Have you tried Stevia?

It grows really well in my backyard. Smells badly(but tastes sweet) but is a great sugar replacement for making lemonade or ice cream or sweets without the high glycemic index.

You also probably have to learn to brush your teeth better. When I was a kid I had lots of cavities, then I learned that I was doing it badly(I had plaque and tartar in my teeth and I got used to it). No one really told me, dentist don't feel the teeth the way your tongue does, they use a piece of metal.

So I brushed better so the surfaces of the teeth became smooth(it took some time but then maintaining that is really easy).

Since then, decades had passed and no new cavities.

They sell Stevia powder packets that look just like sugar packets, albeit much finer powder.

Do you do a fluoride rinse? That can help to strengthen enamel.

I use Act Anticavity Fluoride Mouthwash. It's good to use it after brushing your teeth right before bed. Don't rinse with water afterward.

If you are interested in remineralizing teeth to prevent decay, I suggest reviewing this regimen by the dentist Dr. Phillips.

http://zellies.com/products-zellies-complete.html

I do, but only every 3-6 months via a dentist's prescription.

I was under the impression that the tooth was the same after this treatment.

Ah, no -- this is the same as a regular root canal (including drilling out the original inside of the tooth), except that instead of filling in the tooth with an inert cement, they've sorted out a way to have flesh regrown inside the tooth (below a plug)... though there will be no nerve, so you have flesh inside of a drilled-out, plugged tooth instead of a fully-restored tooth.

This makes me very skeptical:

> The root canal is restored to health by gradual build up of tissue by stem cells over a period, extending from a few weeks to some months.

Sounds like a description of what stem cells generally do. Which part makes you skeptical?

It's supposed to sound good, but in practice making stem cells work, for example implanting them and stimulating them to become anything but unspecific fatty connective tissue is really hard. I could be totally wrong of course, and the article doesn't go into any detail, but the way it's presented triggers several snake oil alarms.

The idea in this case is that they documented stem cells in the gums or tooth root. The only stimulate to let the blood enter the tooth area and let it do the rest. So they don't have active involvement in implanting and stimulating.

If this is legit, it sounds great ... but you couldn't pay me enough to be one of the first people this was tested out on.

I love that 'painless' is in quotes.

Yes, I do mind the quotes too. Most dental procedures are "painless" according to what my dentist says about it before the procedure at least.

I doubt it hurts him much at all.

Soon they will just be injecting some acid to stimulate stem cell production.

http://www.nature.com/news/acid-bath-offers-easy-path-to-ste...

Articles from indiatimes usually smell of propaganda.

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