Good news! Unless you’re a dentist…
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Tooth enamel is armor for your teeth. But there’s a problem – it gets destroyed by everyday life. Chewing, bacteria, that second cup of coffee…
Currently, we polish our enamel with toothpaste. But once enamel is gone, it’s gone forever. And our vulnerable teeth give way to fillings and crowns.
Abshar Hasan and team from the University of Nottingham wanted to change that.
They mixed calcium and select proteins into a gel to REBUILD enamel. After treating damaged teeth with gel, new enamel provided protection similar to natural enamel!
New and improved pearly whites? Can your chewing gum do that?!
Reference: Hasan, A., Chuvilin, A., Van Teijlingen, A. et al. Biomimetic supramolecular protein matrix restores structure and properties of human dental enamel. Nat Commun 16, 9434 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64982-y