Researchers treat tooth decay, cavities with Alzheimer’s drug
A team of researchers at King’s College London in the UK have discovered a new method of treating tooth decay and cavities, resulting in the regeneration of rotten tooth, using an Alzheimer’s drug known as Tideglusib.
The inner, soft pulp of a tooth can become exposed and infected after a trauma or infection. A thin band of dentine is naturally produced and this seals the tooth pulp in order to protect the tooth from infection. However, it is insufficient to effectively repair large cavities.
Dentists mainly use man-made cements or fillings, such as calcium and silicon-based products, to treat these larger cavities and fill holes in teeth. This cement remains in the tooth and fails to disintegrate, meaning that the normal mineral level of the tooth is never completely restored.
However, scientists from the Dental Institute at King’s College London have proven a way to stimulate the stem cells contained in the pulp of the tooth and generate new dentine – the mineralized material that protects the tooth – in large cavities, potentially reducing the need for fillings or cements.
The novel, biological approach could see teeth use their natural ability to repair large cavities rather than using cements or fillings, which are prone to infections and often need replacing a number of times. Indeed when fillings fail or infection occurs, dentists have to remove and fill an area that is larger than what is affected, and after multiple treatments the tooth may eventually need to be extracted.
As the new method encourages natural tooth repair, it could eliminate all of these issues, providing a more natural solution for patients.
The team used biodegradable collagen sponges to deliver the treatment and apply low doses of small molecule glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3) to the tooth. Collagen sponges are commercially-available and clinically-approved, adding to the potential of the treatment’s swift pick-up and use in dental clinics.
They found that the sponge degraded over time and that new dentine replaced it, leading to complete, natural repair.
Lead author of the study, Professor Paul Sharpe from King’s College London said: “The simplicity of our approach makes it ideal as a clinical dental product for the natural treatment of large cavities, by providing both pulp protection and restoring dentine.”
He also added that the use of a drug that has already been tested in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease provides a real opportunity to get the dental treatment quickly into clinics.
