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Sugar & plaque cause decay, while saliva & fluoride strengthen teeth.

This chewing gum reduces the development of dental cavity; however, regular dental check-up every 6 months is still required. This product only targets one bacterium and does not remove plaque, so daily brushing & flossing are required.

Scientists have developed a chewing gum containing friendly bacteria which they say can help prevent tooth decay.

The good bugs in the gum prevent other harmful mouth bacteria from sticking to and attacking the teeth.

Toothpastes and mouthwashes containing Lactobacillus anti-caries are also in the pipeline, German chemical company BASF told Chemistry and Industry.

Friendly bacteria, normally found in live yoghurt, are already purported to be good for treating bowel conditions.

Probiotics

Another potential use of Lactobacillus include the prevention of body odour. BASF are looking to produce a deodorant which can stop the odour-producing bacteria in the armpit.

The bacterium responsible for dental cavities, Streptococcus mutans, persistently colonises the surface of the teeth, where it converts sugar into aggressive acids that breaks down the enamel.

Dr Gordon Watkins of the British Dental Association

L. anti-caries reduces the concentration of this harmful bacterium in the mouth making S. mutans clump together, preventing them from adhering to the teeth.

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Dr Gordon Watkins, a member of the British Dental Association’s health and science committee, cautioned: “These new products will not remove the need to brush your teeth as their action is targeted against just one bacterium.

“It’s not a substitute for brushing the teeth, because this removes the plaque that contains a whole range of bacteria that causes gum disease and bad breath.

“The best way to minimise tooth decay is to reduce consumption of sugars; strengthen the teeth through the use of fluoride; and brush teeth to remove dental plaque.”

Read more on: bbc.co.uk

The following is not an ordinary photograph created by regular digital camera. It’s a picture produced by living genetically-engineered E. coli bacteria—an alive 100-megapixel camera.

University of Texas at Austin Molecular Biology Department: A bacteria-produced photo of an enlarged E. coli bacterium—a “self portrait.”

PC Magazine:
It’s been a rough few years for film. First digital photography took all of its glory—and now even lowly bacteria can capture a Kodak moment. Using a genetically modified form of E coli—the bacteria that can wreak havoc at cookouts—researchers at the University of California San Francisco have developed a biological light sensor. The images it creates take hours to form and are monochrome only, but bacteria’s minute size allows for super-high resolution, about 100 megapixels per square inch—ten times what you can get today.

Holy macro. This “BioFilm” can potentially generate a resolution of 100MP per square inch!!! With this magnification, will the photo become ugly??? Imagine you can see things on your face that cannot be seen with your naked eyes. Micro deep valleys (aka wrinkles), maybe? More biofilm pictures here.

University of Texas at Austin:
Students Aaron Chevalier, Jeff Tabor and Laura Lavery beam with pride when passing around their new pictures. But the photos they’re showing off aren’t from a backpacking trip around Europe or a hiking expedition in the Rockies. They’re passing around some of the first-ever bacterial photographs—living pictures they created on biological film made of E. coli bacteria.

The ghostlike photos—images of people, words and buildings—were made when the students exposed Petri dishes holding billions of genetically engineered E. coli to patterns of light. A new biological circuit in the E. coli gives them the ability to sense light and make black pigment. Each bacterium acts like a pixel on a computer screen, turning black when growing in the dark part of a projection and staying clear in the light.

The University of Texas at Austin students made the bacterial photographs for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s annual intercollegiate Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, which encourages students to build simple biological machines.

There’s no winner of the iGEM contest, but the team was rewarded when their research was published in the Nov. 26 issue of Nature, in an issue focused on the field of synthetic biology.

Read more on: utexas.edu

Already people have come up with ideas to apply this BioFilm technology in our daily living. Here is one at UCSF: Targeting Tumors with Bacteria to Create Tumor Imaging.

Designers were challenged with developing a hand-held suturing device that would prevent needle-stick injuries and protect surgeons, nurses, operating room staff and patients against potentially deadly blood borne pathogens. The SuturTek 360 precisely replicates traditional hand suturing techniques. It prevents accidental needle sticks by containing the sharp point of the needle in a protective cartridge when not in use. It also reduces trauma to the tissue by assuring the needle always follows its own arc. For surgeons, it speeds up the procedure and reduces the tedium of hand suturing—simply squeeze the handle to place a stitch. The SuturTek 360 can also be used with equal ease in either hand. Source: businessweek.com

Cool. Unfortunately, it’s too big to utilize inside the mouth, otherwise I’ll definitely buy one!!!

Here is the second article regarding the University of Alberta dental research in tooth structure repair with a miniature ultrasound device that is mounted on orthodontic braces or a plastic removable crown.

A tiny ultrasound device could help people regrow teeth, researchers at the University of Alberta say.

The prototype ultrasound device can be mounted on braces or a plastic removable crown.

The prototype device offers a way to reform human dental tissue for the first time, the team said Wednesday.

Everyone from hockey players to children who knock out a tooth could benefit.

The treatment, called low-intensity pulsed ultrasound, massages the gums to stimulate jaws, encourage growth in the roots of teeth and aid healing in dental tissue.

“If the root is broken, it can now be fixed,” said Dr. Tarak El-Bialy of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. “And because we can regrow the teeth root, a patient could have his own tooth rather than foreign objects in his mouth.”

El-Bialy discovered ultrasound could be used to form new dental tissue from his research on rabbit incisors, which was published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.

He then tested the technique on people who needed to get their teeth pulled.

Source: cbc.ca

Here is a nanotechnology application in dentistry. Interesting research data. A small scaled clinical trial was done on human and the results were presented at the World Federation of Orthodontics in Paris, September 2005. I wonder if the regenerating effect is also applicable to edentulous patients. If not, I guess the effect should be more appropriately called “generation of new dental tissue” instead of “regeneration of dental tissue.”

Edmonton - Hockey players, rejoice! A team of University of Alberta researchers has created technology to regrow teeth - the first time scientists have been able to reform human dental tissue.

This tiny chip stimulates regeneration of dental tissue.

Using low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), Dr. Tarak El-Bialy from the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and Drs. Jie Chen and Ying Tsui from the Faculty of Engineering have created a miniaturized system-on-a-chip that offers a non-invasive and novel way to stimulate jaw growth and dental tissue healing.

“It’s very exciting because we have shown the results and actually have something you can touch and feel that will impact the health of people in Canada and throughout the world,” said Chen, who works out of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the National Institute for Nanotechnology.

The wireless design of the ultrasound transducer means the miniscule device will be able to fit comfortably inside a patient’s mouth while packed in biocompatible materials. The unit will be easily mounted on an orthodontic or “braces” bracket or even a plastic removable crown. The team also designed an energy sensor that will ensure the LIPUS power is reaching the target area of the teeth roots within the bone. TEC Edmonton, the U of A’s exclusive tech transfer service provider, filed the first patent recently in the U.S. Currently, the research team is finishing the system-on-a-chip and hopes to complete the miniaturized device by next year.

“If the root is broken, it can now be fixed,” said El-Bialy. “And because we can regrow the teeth root, a patient could have his own tooth rather than foreign objects in his mouth.”

The device is aimed at those experiencing dental root resorption, a common effect of mechanical or chemical injury to dental tissue caused by diseases and endocrine disturbances. Mechanical injury from wearing orthodontic braces causes progressive root resorption, limiting the duration that braces can be worn. This new device will work to counteract the destructive process while allowing for the continued wearing of corrective braces. With approximately five million people in North America presently wearing orthodontic braces, the market size for the device would be 1.4 million users.

Source: ualberta.ca