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 Teeth can be encouraged to repair themselves in a way that could see an end to fillings, say scientists. 
 
 The team at King's College London showed that a chemical could encourage cells in the dental pulp to heal small holes in mice teeth. 
 
 A biodegradable sponge was soaked in the drug and then put inside the cavity. 
 
 The study, published in Scientific Reports, showed it led to "complete, effective natural repair". 
 
 Teeth have limited regenerative abilities. They can produce a thin band of dentine - the layer just below the enamel - if the inner dental pulp becomes exposed, but this cannot repair a large cavity. 
 
 Normally dentists have to repair tooth decay or caries with a filling made of a metal amalgam or a composite of powdered glass and ceramic. 
 
 These can often need replacing multiple times during someone's lifetime, so the researchers tried to enhance the natural regenerative capacity of teeth to repair larger holes. 
 
 They discovered that a drug called Tideglusib heightened the activity of stem cells in the dental pulp so they could repair 0.13mm holes in the teeth of mice. 
 
 A drug-soaked sponge was placed in the hole and then a protective coating was applied over the top. 
 
 As the sponge broke down it was replaced by dentine, healing the tooth. 
 
 New treatment 
 
 Prof Paul Sharpe, one of the researchers, told the BBC News website: "The sponge is biodegradable, that's the key thing. 
 
 "The space occupied by the sponge becomes full of minerals as the dentine regenerates so you don't have anything in there to fail in the future." 
 
 The team at King's is now investigating whether the approach can repair larger holes. 
 
 Prof Sharpe said a new treatment could be available soon: "I don't think it's massively long term, it's quite low-hanging fruit in regenerative medicine and hopeful in a three-to-five year period this would be commercially available." 
 
 The field of regenerative medicine - which encourages cells to rapidly divide to repair damage - often raises concerns about cancer. 
 
 Tideglusib alters a series of chemical signals in cells, called Wnt, which has been implicated in some tumours. 
 
 However, the drug has already been trialled in patients as a potential dementia therapy. 
 
 "The safety work has been done and at much higher concentrations so hopefully we're on to a winner," said Prof Sharpe. 
 
 This is only the latest approach in repairing teeth - another group at King's believe electricity can be used to strengthen a tooth by forcing minerals into the layer of enamel. 
 
 Minerals such as calcium and phosphate naturally flow in and out of the tooth with acid, produced by bacteria munching on food in the mouth, helping to leach out minerals. 
 
 The group apply a mineral cocktail and then use a small electric current to drive the minerals deep into the tooth. 
 
 They say "Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation" can strengthen the tooth and reduce dental caries. 
 
 Follow James on Twitter. ||||| Need for fillings could be reduced in future as study reveals natural ability of teeth to repair themselves can be enhanced using Alzheimer’s drug 
 
 Dentists have devised a treatment to regenerate rotten teeth that could substantially reduce the need for fillings in the future. 
 
 The therapy works by enhancing the natural ability of teeth to repair themselves through the activation of stem cells in the soft pulp at the centre. 
 
 Normally, this mechanism is limited to repairing small cracks and holes in dentine, the solid bulk of the tooth beneath the surface enamel. Now scientists have shown that the natural process can be enhanced using an Alzheimer’s drug, allowing the tooth’s own cells to rebuild cavities extending from the surface to the root. 
 
 No more fillings as dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment Read more 
 
 Prof Paul Sharpe, who led the work at King’s College London, said: “Almost everyone on the planet has tooth decay at some time – it’s a massive volume of people being treated. We’ve deliberately tried to make something really simple, really quick and really cheap.” 
 
 In the trial, in mice, the team showed that when defects were filled with a biodegradable sponge soaked in the drug, the tooth was gradually able to rebuild itself. 
 
 Restoring the tooth’s original dentine structure is preferable because dental cements used in conventional fillings weaken the tooth, leave it prone to future infections – and inevitably erode or detach. 
 
 In the case of large cavities, the tooth may eventually need to be extracted after undergoing multiple treatments. The new method, which would encourage natural tooth repair, has the potential to eliminate these issues, according to the scientists. 
 
 “The tooth is not just a lump of mineral, it’s got its own physiology. You’re replacing a living tissue with an inert cement,” said Sharpe. “Fillings work fine, but if the tooth can repair itself, surely [that’s] the best way. You’re restoring all the vitality of the tooth.” 
 
 The new treatment would not eliminate the need for the dentist’s drill, however, since decaying sections of the tooth would still need to be removed. “Sorry, you’re still going to have the drill, you can’t get away from that, I’m afraid,” said Sharpe. 
 
 
 
 The therapy relies on a drug called tideglusib, which has been assessed as a potential Alzheimer’s treatment, and which is known to be safe for clinical use. 
 
 Previous work by the team has shown that the drug stimulates stem cells in the centre of the tooth, triggering them to develop into odontoblasts (specialised tooth cells) and boosting the production of dentine, allowing larger defects to be reversed. “We get more of the cells, much quicker and they are more active,” said Sharpe. 
 
 In the study, published in Scientific Reports, the scientists drilled holes into the teeth of mice, inserted a biodegradable collagen sponge soaked in the drug and sealed the tooth with a dental adhesive. 
 
 A quarter of five-year-olds in England have tooth decay, data shows Read more 
 
 When the teeth were examined several weeks later, the sponge had degraded and been replaced with new dentine. Collagen sponges are commercially available and clinically-approved. The dental preparation of the tooth would be almost identical to that required for conventional fillings, according to the scientists. 
 
 A remaining question is whether the method will scale up successfully to human teeth, in which cavities can be significantly larger. The team are currently testing the technique in rats, whose teeth are about four times larger than those of mice, and if this is successful plan to apply later this year to carry out the first clinical trials in patients. 
 
 Ben Scheven, an oral cell biologist at the University of Birmingham, said that preserving the live tooth tissue was increasingly viewed as a priority. “Dentistry is not only about filling and drilling but also about keeping the teeth healthy,” he said. “Especially since it’s an accessible and cheap treatment I can imagine this being used in the clinic.” 
 
 Winnie Wong, a dentist based in Hertfordshire, said: “Clinically speaking, the best material is always natural tooth structure, so I’m sure this method will be encouraged by most dentists.” 
 
 Wong added that the therapy could “cut down on trauma caused by dentists who are slightly overzealous in their caries removal”. “I think it would be welcomed amongst patients, as no one likes going to the dentist to have fillings and injections, no matter how nice we are!” she said. ||||| A team behind regenerative dental fillings that could help heal teeth have been awarded a Royal Society of Chemistry prize. 
 
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 Researchers from the University of Nottingham and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University have developed therapeutic synthetic, light-curable, biomaterials for dental treatments that support native dental stem cells inside teeth to repair and regenerate dentin. 
 
 The approach could significantly impact millions of dental patients each year by dental fillings that help heal teeth when they are injured from dental disease or dental surgery. 
 
 The research won second prize in the materials category of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Emerging Technologies Competition 2016. 
 
 Dr Adam Celiz, Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham, said: “Existing dental fillings are toxic to cells and are therefore incompatible with pulp tissue inside the tooth. In cases of dental pulp disease and injury a root canal is typically performed to remove the infected tissues. 
 
 “We have designed synthetic biomaterials that can be used similarly to dental fillings but can be placed in direct contact with pulp tissue to stimulate the native stem cell population for repair and regeneration of pulp tissue and the surrounding dentin. Our approach has great promise to impact the dental field and this prize provides a great platform to develop this technology further with industrial partners.” 
 
 David Mooney, the Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at the John Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, added: “These materials may provide an effective and practical approach to allow a patient to regenerate components of their own teeth.” 
 
 Dr Kyle Vining, DDS, Fellow at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University said: “We are excited about the promise of therapeutic biomaterials for bringing regenerative medicine to restorative dentistry.” 
 
 Applications were judged on the degree of innovation of the technology, its potential impact, and the quality of the science behind it. The group will receive tailored business support from multinational partner companies, business training, media support, and a cash prize of £3,000. 
 
 Dr Steve Pleasance, Head of Industry at the Royal Society of Chemistry said: “Increasing innovation in the chemical sciences is one of the key elements of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s industry strategy. “ 
 
 Our Emerging Technologies competition, now in its fourth year and supported by our industry partners, is proving to be highly successful in accelerating the commercialisation of the cutting-edge research taking place in both universities and small companies.” 
 
 Winning the competition gives businesses the platform they need to make the industry aware of their technology. 
 
 Since the initiative began in 2013, winners have gone on to raise a combined total of over £16 million in further funding, grown their companies and entered commercial contracts. 
 
 A previous winner went on to secure US$1.7 million of funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop their novel treatment for iron deficiency anaemia, whilst another received support from GSK and was awarded over £2.5 million to take their enzyme catalysis technology towards market. 
 
 Forty shortlisted entrants presented their ideas to a panel of expert judges at the competition final, held at the Chemistry Means Business event. The judges are industry leaders and experts in their fields, drawn from a wide range of specialisms. 
 
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– A novel therapy holds real promise in changing the way dentists treat your cavities—they'd get the cavities to fill themselves. As the Guardian reports, researchers at King's College London found that they could stimulate stem cells within the teeth to regenerate through a relatively simple approach: They insert a tiny drug-soaked sponge in the cavity. "The sponge is biodegradable, that's the key thing," researcher Paul Sharpe tells the BBC. "The space occupied by the sponge becomes full of minerals as the dentine regenerates so you don't have anything in there to fail in the future." In their study, the drug used was tideglusib, which has been used in clinical trials as a treatment for dementia and Alzheimer's. Having a tooth refill itself naturally is far preferable to the usual treatment of filling the cavity with some kind of amalgam that raises the risk of related problems down the road. "This simple, rapid natural tooth repair process could thus potentially provide a new approach to clinical tooth restoration," write the researchers in Scientific Reports. Also promising is that because the drug already has been proven safe for clinical trials, the turnaround to real-world applications could happen relatively quickly. One caveat: The study was on mice, and researchers can't say for sure yet whether they'd get the same results in larger, human cavities. (The main reason people avoid the dentist isn't fear.)