Toothpaste made from your hair provides natural root to repair teeth

 

In a new study published today, scientists discovered that keratin, a protein found in hair, skin and wool, can repair tooth enamel and stop early stages of decay.

The King’s College London team of scientists discovered that keratin produces a protective coating that mimics the structure and function of natural enamel when it comes into contact with minerals in saliva.

Dr Sherif Elsharkawy, senior author and consultant in prosthodontics at King’s College London, said: “Unlike bones and hair, enamel does not regenerate, once it is lost, it’s gone forever.”

Acidic foods and drinks, poor oral hygiene, and ageing all contribute to enamel erosion and decay, leading to tooth sensitivity, pain and eventually tooth loss.

While fluoride toothpastes are currently used to slow this process, keratin-based treatments were found to stop it completely. Keratin forms a dense mineral layer that protects the tooth and seals off exposed nerve channels that cause sensitivity, offering both structural and symptomatic relief.

The treatment could be delivered through a toothpaste for daily use or as a professionally applied gel, similar to nail varnish, for more targeted repair. The team is already exploring pathways for clinical application and believes that keratin-based enamel regeneration could be made available to the public within the next two to three years.

In their study, published in Advanced Healthcare Materials, the scientists extracted keratin from wool. They discovered that when keratin is applied to the tooth surface and comes into contact with the minerals naturally present in saliva, it forms a highly organised, crystal-like scaffold that mimics the structure and function of natural enamel.

Over time, this scaffold continues to attract calcium and phosphate ions, leading to the growth of a protective enamel-like coating around the tooth. This marks a significant step forward in regenerative dentistry.

Sara Gamea, PhD researcher at King’s College London and first author of the study, added: “Keratin offers a transformative alternative to current dental treatments. Not only is it sustainably sourced from biological waste materials like hair and skin, it also eliminates the need for traditional plastic resins, commonly used in restorative dentistry, which are toxic and less durable. Keratin also looks much more natural than these treatments, as it can more closely match the colour of the original tooth.”

As concerns grow over the sustainability of healthcare materials and long-term fluoride use, this discovery positions keratin as a leading candidate for future dental care. The research also aligns with broader efforts to embrace circular, waste-to-health innovations, transforming what would otherwise be discarded into a valuable clinical resource.

Sara Gamea said: “This technology bridges the gap between biology and dentistry, providing an eco-friendly biomaterial that mirrors natural processes.”

Dr Elsharkawy concluded: “We are entering an exciting era where biotechnology allows us to not just treat symptoms but restore biological function using the body’s own materials. With further development and the right industry partnerships, we may soon be growing stronger, healthier smiles from something as simple as a haircut.”

Link to paper: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adhm.202502465

Arginine dentifrices significantly reduce childhood caries

 

The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) and the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) have announced the publication of a new study in JDR Clinical & Translational Research that demonstrates that arginine dentifrices reduce dental caries in children with active caries as much as, or more than, a sodium fluoride dentifrice, depending on the arginine concentration.

Dental caries remain a significant oral health burden globally. Scientific evidence has demonstrated the dose-dependent, anticaries action of fluoride; however, more effective, comprehensive, and alternative prevention strategies should be investigated. The study, “Arginine Dentifrices and Childhood Caries Prevention: A Randomized Clinical Trial” by Wei Lin, Sichuan University, et al. carried out a two-year, phase III, double-blind, three-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial from April 15, 2019 through March 12, 2022 across three centers in China. Six thousand children aged 10–14 with two or more active caries lesions were assigned one of three study dentifrices: 8.0% arginine, 1.5% arginine, and 0.32% NaF as a positive control. The primary efficacy outcomes were incremental DMFS (decayed, missing, and filled surfaces) and DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) caries indices scores after two years of product use.

After two years, the 8.0% arginine-containing dentifrice demonstrated a statistically significant 26.0% reduction in DMFS and 25.3% in DMFT scores vs. the 0.32% NaF control. No statistical difference was measured between the 1.5% arginine-containing dentifrice and the 0.32% NaF control in DMFS and DMFT. This clinical study confirms that depending on the concentration, arginine dentifrices are as effective, or more effective, than a sodium fluoride dentifrice in providing anti-caries protection in children with active caries.

Maple compound offers new way to fight tooth decay

 

 — A new study in the journal Microbiology Spectrum highlights the potential of using a natural compound from maple to combat the bacteria responsible for tooth decay: Streptococcus mutans. The compound, epicatechin gallate, is a powerful and safe alternative to traditional plaque-fighting agents. Its natural abundance, affordability and lack of toxicity make it especially promising for inclusion in oral care products such as mouthwashes, offering a safer option for young children, who often accidentally swallow mouthwash.

The new study emerged as an offshoot of research into natural compounds that inhibit biofilm formation in Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne pathogen. As is often the case in science, the researchers made an unexpected observation that Listeria readily forms biofilms on plant materials, including most wood, but seems to avoid certain types, especially maple. This piqued the researchers’ curiosity. They isolated polyphenolic compounds from maple that inhibit Listeria attachment and biofilm formation. They also identified their target: sortase A, an enzyme that anchors adhesins to the bacterial cell wall. When sortase A is inhibited, these adhesins are not anchored in the bacterial cell wall, impairing the ability of Listeria to attach to surfaces and form biofilms. That discovery led the researchers to investigate whether similar mechanisms exist in related bacteria. Sortase A in Streptococcus species, which is Listeria’s cousin in the Bacillota phylum, turned out to be quite similar. One species in particular, Streptococcus mutans, stood out because it causes dental caries, commonly known as cavities. 

“Since S. mutans initiates cavities by forming biofilms (plaques) on teeth and producing acid that destroys tooth enamel, we asked: could maple polyphenols also inhibit S. mutans biofilms? That question drove this study,” said corresponding study author Mark Gomelsky, Ph.D., Martha Gilliam Professor of Microbiology and Director of the Microbiology Program at the University of Wyoming.

The researchers first used computer modeling to see whether maple polyphenols could bind to the sortase A enzyme from S. mutans, and discovered that they did. Next, they purified the sortase A in the lab and confirmed that these compounds inhibit its activity in a test tube. Finally, they assessed whether maple polyphenols block S. mutans from forming biofilms on plastic teeth and on hydroxyapatite disks—a stand-in for real tooth enamel— and discovered they worked there too. 

“In a way, this study felt almost too easy. Everything fell into place just as we predicted. That’s a rare experience in science, and probably the first time it’s happened in my 35-year research career,” Gomelsky said. “We discovered that several polyphenols present in maple wood or maple sap can inhibit the sortase enzyme in S. mutans, which in turn prevents this cavity-causing bacterium from attaching to tooth surfaces.” Interestingly, the most potent inhibitor was (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG), a compound also present in green and black tea, though in much higher amounts in tea than in maple sap. Drinking green tea has long been associated with lower rates of cavities, and its main polyphenol, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), has been used in dental products. The researchers found that EGCG does inhibit S. mutans biofilms, but it’s not nearly as effective as ECG. This raises the intriguing possibility that the moderate effects seen with EGCG-based dental products may be due to using the suboptimal compound, instead of the more potent ECG.

“Our findings suggest that ECG or other edible polyphenols with anti-sortase activity could be added to dental products to help prevent cavities through an antibiofilm mechanism,” Gomelsky said. “This is different from traditional approaches, which rely on killing bacteria with alcohol, disinfectants or essential oils, or on fluoride to remineralize enamel. The antibiofilm approach using edible polyphenols is especially appealing for young children. For example, young children can’t use conventional mouthwashes because they might swallow them and risk toxicity. A safer alternative, such as a mouthwash containing an effective dose of an edible polyphenol, could provide protection without harmful side effects.”

Gomelsky said they are actively developing plant polyphenol-based dental products through a startup founded by University of Wyoming students and the first author of this study, Ahmed Elbakush, Ph.D.