Here at Lembo-Montgomery we are always keeping an eye open for new developments in dentistry which will allow us to provide better oral care for our patients. Across the country, 25% of the country’s children, between the ages of 2 and 5 years and 50% of 12–15 year olds get tooth decay at some time or other. Even more alarming is that a quarter of all adults over the age of 65 have no teeth at all!
These are not good statistics considering the awareness of how tooth decay takes place and how it can be prevented. However, research being conducted in Britain has recently discovered a new technique that may see the end of tooth decay as we know it.
The novel treatment is called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralization (EAER), and may be available for public use within three years.
The great news about this new technique is that it is a pain-free filling that enables cavities to be fixed without the need for drilling or injections. The idea is that the decaying tooth is ‘persuaded’ to rebuild itself naturally. Generally, tooth decay is eliminated by drilling it out and the hole or cavity left behind is filled in with a specially formulated material, such as a composite resin or amalgam.
The EAER process speeds up the movement of phosphate and calcium minerals into the damaged area in a two stage process. The first stage is the preparation of the damaged area; then, with the use of a small electric current, minerals are pushed into the site that has been prepared.
Nigel Pitts, a professor from King’s College London’s Dental Institute, said that the technique will be far kinder to patients and far better for teeth too. Dental treatment can get expensive but this type of novel treatment is not expected to be any more costly than current teeth decay methods and it is hoped it will be long lasting.
At this stage, the treatment is only in the trial phase and it probably won’t be available for dentists to use for at least three years. All this is still great news for those who have phobias about attending dental consultations because they are afraid of experiencing pain. Resolving dental decay permanently is an even greater incentive for people to go through courses of treatment so that when they retire they will not have reached the stage of denture use which no one is proud of.
In the meantime, while this dental break through is being prepared for global use, it is important to ensure that people of all ages try to protect their teeth from the onset of decay. Simple brushing and flossing twice a day with a suitable tooth brush and visiting the dentist every six months ensures preventative decay techniques are used before decay sets in. Having a cavity filled is not painful at all with current methods and the colors used for fillings are more user-friendly too.