DT News - UK - New device to treat caries with electric remineralisation

Dental Tribune International

Wed. 18 June 2014

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LONDON – British researchers have developed a device that takes the pain out of tooth decay treatment by electrically reversing the process to help teeth remineralise. The technique, known as Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation (EAER), could be brought to market within three years.

With 2.3 billion sufferers annually, dental caries is one of the most common preventable diseases globally. Dentists normally treat established caries in a tooth by drilling to remove the decay and filling the tooth with a material, such as amalgam or composite resin.

Researchers at Reminova, a spin-out company of King’s College London, aim to rebuild the tooth and heal it by accelerating the natural process by which calcium and phosphate minerals re-enter the tooth to repair a defect. They have developed a device that boosts the tooth’s natural repair process.

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The two-step method developed by Reminova first prepares the damaged part of the outer enamel layer of the tooth, then uses a tiny electric current to push minerals into the tooth to repair the damaged site. The defect is remineralised in a painless process that requires no drills, injections or filling materials. Electric currents are already used by dentists to check the pulp or nerve of a tooth. The new device uses a current that is far smaller than that currently used on patients and cannot be felt by the patient.

Prof. Nigel Pitts from King’s College London Dental Institute said, “The way we treat teeth today is not ideal: when we repair a tooth by putting in a filling that tooth enters a cycle of drilling and re-filling as, ultimately, each repair fails. Not only is our device kinder to the patient and better for his or her teeth, but it’s expected to be at least as cost-effective as current dental treatments. Along with fighting tooth decay, our device can also be used to whiten teeth.”

Reminova, which is currently seeking private investment to further develop its remineralisation device, is the first spin-out from the Dental Innovation and Translation Centre at King’s College London, which was launched in January 2013. The centre was formed to translate research and novel technologies into products, into changes in clinical practice and into policy that will improve health and health care internationally.

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