Teeth

Main article: Human body

How the tooth works

1 - enamel, 2 - dentin, 3 - dental pulp, 4 - cement of tooth tissue, 5 - keratized gum, 6 - vessels, nerves, 7 - peridont, 8 - alveolar bone, 9 - nervous and blood supply, 10 - pocket and dental stone

Tooth enamel

2023

Dental enamel repair technology created

On August 14, 2023, American researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle announced the development of a new technology that paves the way for regenerative dentistry.

Experts have created from stem cells organoids that secrete proteins that form tooth enamel - a substance that protects teeth from damage and destruction. Tooth enamel is the hardest tissue in the human body: it is produced by specialized cells called ameloblasts. When tooth formation is complete, these cells die off. Therefore, the body does not have the ability to repair or regenerate damaged enamel, and teeth can become prone to damage.

Scientists used a sophisticated computer program called Monocle to engineer a likely trajectory of gene activity

To create ameloblasts in the lab, researchers first had to understand the genetic mechanism that causes embryonic stem cells to develop into these highly specialized cells. The scientists used a sophisticated computer program called Monocle to construct a likely trajectory of gene activity. After numerous experiments, the researchers still managed to force undifferentiated human stem cells to turn into ameloblasts.

In the course of research, experts also identified for the first time another type of cell - the so-called subodontoblasts. It is assumed that these are precursors - odontoblasts, cells that are critical for the formation of teeth. Together, these cell types can form small three-dimensional multicellular mini-organs called organoids. They organized into structures similar to those seen in developing human teeth and secreted three main enamel proteins: ameloblastin, amelogenin, and enamel. Proteins form a matrix, after which mineralization and enamel formation occur.

Next, the research team intends to refine the process to create enamel comparable in durability to natural tissue and develop ways to use this enamel to repair damaged teeth.^[1]

In Russia, they created a method for automatically measuring the thickness of tooth enamel from a picture

In Russia, they created a method for automatically measuring the thickness of tooth enamel from a picture. The corresponding achievement was shared at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) in August 2023.

Scientists have worked with doctors to develop a new way to measure tooth enamel thickness using computed tomography (CT) scans. This method is not only useful for archaeologists and paleontologists, but can also be used in clinical medicine to detect functional changes in the chewing system.

In Russia, they created a method for automatically measuring the thickness of tooth enamel from a picture

Tooth enamel is one of the most popular objects for research in paleontology and archeology. This is because the teeth persist better than the skeleton, and the structure and shape of the teeth vary markedly even among closely related animal species. In addition, the analysis of the isotopic and chemical composition of the enamel, as well as the degree of its deterioration, allows you to determine where a particular individual lived, what he ate and what diseases he suffered.

Such information, as scientists note, is often difficult to obtain without destroying the teeth at least partially. Therefore, they developed a technique that allows you to accurately reconstruct the three-dimensional shape of the tooth and measure the thickness of its enamel in automatic mode using CT images.

The scientists' work was devoted to the study of dental morphology using three-dimensional data analysis. Scientists have proposed automated algorithms capable of performing point coordinate calculations and surface curvature analysis in the presented metric method, applied to enamel cap reconstructions in 2D and 3D modes.

The researchers tested the effectiveness of this approach on the teeth of ancient orangutans and gigantopitecs, the largest species of pre-glacial primate whose teeth were recently discovered during excavations in northern Vietnam. In both cases, scientists were able to accurately reconstruct the shape of the teeth and measure the thickness of their enamel at all points on the surface. This allows the use of a new approach in both scientific and dental practice.^[2]

Material for growing tooth enamel created

In April 2023, it became known about the creation of material that helps grow tooth enamel. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a new way to grow mineralised materials that can regenerate hard tissues such as tooth enamel and bone. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Communications.

Dentist and first author of the study from the Queen Mary School of Engineering and Materials Science, Sherif Elsharkavi, reported that the material could be used to address a wide range of dental problems, such as the prevention and treatment of tooth decay or sensitivity. At the heart of the developed mechanism is a special protein material that can trigger and direct the growth of apatite nanocrystals at different levels - just as these crystals grow when tooth enamel develops in our bodies. Such structural organization is crucial for the outstanding physical properties that natural tooth enamel possesses.

According to Elsharkavi, the main goal of materials science is to learn from nature in order to develop useful materials based on accurate control of molecular building blocks. A key discovery was the ability to use disordered proteins to control and control the mineralization process at various scales. Elsharkavi added that thanks to this, scientists have developed a technique that makes it easy to grow synthetic materials. The technology not only simulates hierarchically organized architecture in large areas, but also makes it possible to customize their properties. Scientists can control the mineralization process, which opens up the possibility of creating materials with properties that mimic various hard tissues besides enamel, such as bone and dentin.

Thus, according to researchers from Queen Mary University of London, this work has the potential for use in various fields of regenerative medicine. In addition, the study also provides insight into the role of protein impairment in human physiology and pathology.^[3]

Smoke from cigarette pack stains teeth from inside in 3 weeks

Tooth enamel, the hardest tissue in the human body, consists of tightly placed hydroxyapatite crystals, which are usually impermeable to water and therefore resist darkening. However, microscopic cracks may occur on enamel surfaces that make the tissue vulnerable to infiltration of external colorants and pigments from natural sources such as cigarette smoke.

When tobacco is burned, resin is formed - solid particles that do not contain nicotine and water, but contain pigments that can stain and discolor the tissues of the human body. The skin, nails and teeth suffer the most from their impact.

Previous studies have shown that smoke from even two packs of cigarettes causes darkening of the tooth enamel of cattle, which could not be completely eliminated even with bleaching or cleaning. The goal of the new study in 2020 was to study the effects on dental enamel of the smoke of a standard 3R4F cigarette and an electronic tobacco heating system in which nicotine is released without the combustion process.

"While inhaling cigarette smoke, the teeth are inevitably exposed. The pigmented compounds settle on the surface or penetrate the hard tissues of the tooth, causing a color change. The available scientific evidence suggests that the degree of staining of the cigarette filter is proportional to the amount of resin formed during smoking, "says the text of a scientific article by a group of scientists who studied the effect of cigarette resins on the color of tooth enamel.

The research was conducted by scientists Filippo Zanetti, Manuel Peisht and Julia Hyung from the Swiss Science Center PMI Science (a division of Philip Morris International) and Xiaoi Jao, Jie Pan and Yang-fang Ren from the Beijing School of Dentistry. The results are published in the scientific journal Quintessence International.

The experiment lasted 3 weeks, during which the teeth removed for orthodontic purposes were exposed to tobacco smoke or ESNT aerosol, which was approximately 20 cigarettes or sticks per day. At the same time, all samples were regularly cleaned with toothpaste twice a day. Between sessions, the teeth were placed in artificial saliva heated to a temperature of 37 degrees.

Exposure to standard 3R4F cigarette smoke for 3 weeks caused a statistically significant decrease in brightness or color saturation and a significant increase in red and yellow enamel, the study found. At the same time, scientists have found that cigarette smoke causes the so-called "internal discoloration," which, unlike external darkening, cannot be easily eliminated using conventional oral hygiene. This explains why, when assessing enamel discoloration, darkening persisted after mechanical brushing of tooth samples. Scientists noted that the degree of discoloration in photocomposite fillings was on average three times higher than in tooth enamel. The conclusion that the authors of the study made is that with a comparable nicotine content in cigarettes and electronic tobacco heating means, it is the presence of tobacco smoke that causes the enamel to darken.

"Eliminating or reducing the dispersed phase content from cigarette smoke should effectively reduce the risk of discoloration of teeth caused by smoking. It was found that unlike cigarette smoke, the aerosol generated by tobacco heating devices does not cause a change in the color of the teeth that could be easily noticed even with the naked eye, "the study said.

How the change of milk teeth to permanent

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Skull before changing milk teeth to permanent ones.

Milk tooth. Macroshooting

Disease prevention

Toothpastes

Main article: Toothpastes

• Toothpaste abrasiveness (RDA)

In 1954, American Don Poynter invented whisky-flavored toothpaste. It contained 3% alcohol and became very popular among drinkers.

Rubber vibroplate for gum massage in the United States.

Diseases

Caries

Caries is a tooth disease in which enamel and dentin are destroyed, as a result, damage is formed on its surface - a "hole." Under the microscope it looks like this.

Polyodontia

Tooth loss and protruding chin

With the loss of teeth and bone tissue, the angle of the lower jaw increases, which leads to its deformation and the "formation" of the protruding chin.

Dentures

2023: Drug created to grow new teeth in humans

In mid-June 2023, Japanese specialists from the Kitano Medical Research Institute in Osaka announced the development of a drug that allows new teeth to be grown in humans. Read more here.

2019

Removable dental prosthesis swallowed by patient in sleep. Stuck right above the larynx

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Chronicle

2024: World's first drug developed for growing human teeth

In early May 2024, the Japanese company Toregem Biopharma, associated with Kyoto University, announced the development of the world's first drug for growing human teeth. It is assumed that at the initial stage, the therapy of the new type will be focused on people with congenital adentia. Read more here.

Notes