'Nanospheres' that block pain of
sensitive teeth:
Nanospheres could help dentists fill the tiny holes in our teeth that make
them incredibly sensitive, and that cause severe pain for millions of adults
and children worldwide.
Preliminary research by the University
of Leeds presented today at the
institute of physics conference EMAG-NANO 2005 shows that creating tiny
spheres of a ceramic material called hydroxyapatite could be a long term
solution or cure for sensitive teeth.
Sensitive teeth or ‘dental hypersensitivity’ is a condition
that arises when the dentine of the tooth is exposed. The dentine is
made up of thousands of tiny fluid-filled channels which radiate outwards
from the nerve endings at the centre of the tooth. Heat, some chemicals,
and physical contact can cause the fluid in these channels to move – in
or out – triggering the nerve endings and causing sharp pain.
If these channels (or ‘tubules’) are fully or partially
blocked, the flow can be reduced and the pain stopped or significantly
reduced. Currently, the only way to treat this condition is through good
dental hygiene – using special toothpastes and fluorine mouthwashes
which encourage re-mineralization of the dentine coating.
Jonathan Earl, David Wood and Steve Milne from the institute of materials
research at the University of Leeds have found that the most successful
particle shape for filling these channels is a ‘nanosphere’ and
are now trying to synthesize nanospheres of hydroxyapatite.
Hydroxyapatite
is a ceramic material which is highly compatible with teeth and bone
and so is widely used by medics for bone grafts or dental coatings (because
it binds strongly with the bone material).
Earl and his colleagues grew hydroxyapatite at various pH levels to
vary the size of the particles it is made up of. At normal pH, it is
composed of long rod-like structures but at high pH levels the particles
of hydroxyapatite become smaller and more rounded, better for fitting
inside the tiny channels in teeth.
To see whether nanospheres would be successful at filling the channels
they used commercially available silica nanospheres of around 40nm in
diameter.
Earl said:
" We found these tiny spheres are really good at filling
the channels in teeth, packing inside them quite evenly and going down
the holes to a good depth. They'd be the perfect shape of particle for
filling these channels and reducing or preventing the pain caused by
sensitive teeth".
The next stage of their research will be to work out how to synthesize
nanospheres of hydroyapatite or a combination of hydroxyapatite and fluorine
which would fill the holes and encourage re-mineralization at the same
time and so be an incredibly powerful repair tool for dentists.
News is included on this website to
inform visitors about current health issues, but not to endorse
any particular view or activity. Material in this news item
was first published by Leeds University (England, UK) on
1st September 2005.
For further information, please visit their website
using the link below.
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