Self Healing Fillings

Painful root canal treatment could be a thing in the past with the introduction of dental fillings that heal themselves using stem cells.

17:10 06 July 2016

Regenerative fillings have been developed that could spell out the end of painful root canal treatment. Scientists said that the said filling, which allows the teeth to heal themselves, use stem cell to encourage the growth of dentin – the calcified tissue that makes up the bulk of each tooth.

 

“Existing dental fillings are toxic to cells and are therefore incompatible with pulp tissue inside the tooth," explained Dr Adam Celiz, Marie Curie Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham.

"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."

 

“We are excited about the promise of therapeutic biomaterials for bringing regenerative medicine to restorative dentistry,” said Dr Kyle Vining from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University.