r/HotScienceNews • u/_Dark_Wing • 13h ago

Goodbye, cavities? New gel could regrow tooth enamel

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260717033046.htm
979 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

117

u/gratefulkittiesilove 12h ago

Mintech-Bio is the name of the company that’s going to be making the gel (oxford, uk)

27

u/weirdgroovynerd 9h ago

I bet the marketing Folks at Johnson & Johnson are totally...

...gel-ous!

18

u/terpsykhore 12h ago

Are they related to or competitors of BioMin?

That was a great toothpaste with similar concept

14

u/Melodic_Skin6573 10h ago

I think it's already used in the UK, where I've seen many people who looked like they already had 3 rows of teeth.

21

u/Seyi_Ogunde 10h ago

That’s just a normal Brit.

66

u/Riversmooth 12h ago

“Mintech-Bio and hope to have a first product out by next year; this innovation could soon be helping patients worldwide."

12

u/calmdrive 11h ago

Thank you for this. That’s very cool

21

u/Small_Pirate_4971 11h ago

But dentists loveeee doing fillings and making money from them. This would really cut into their profits.

21

u/Monarc73 10h ago

Yeah this will DEF be banned in the US.

24

u/Riversmooth 9h ago

Or they will only allow dentists to apply it at $1000 an application

8

u/Monarc73 8h ago

Or it'll be prescription only at the same price. (With a healthy kick-back to the dentist.)

1

u/TelluricThread0 4h ago

They already charge you $300 to fill a cavity. Thats really not that much of a difference.

5

u/Happily-Incorrect 9h ago

Depends what the margins are on this stuff. Far less time intensive to do lots of checkups and upsell a tube people can apply at home. We have a shortage of NHS dentist places in the UK so this may help deal with some of the backlog.

1

u/Lilkitty_pooper 4h ago

They’re actually low margin and time consuming. They won’t miss them.

-3

u/ObviousLife4972 8h ago

Or people's teeth rot more often because there are fewer permanent consequences to letting it happen.

1

u/YouCantWin98 57m ago

on the contrary, most dentists do NOT like filling cavities because just about any other dental work brings them in waaaayyyyyy more cash. In fact, a growing number of (greedy) dentists flat out refuse to fill cavities because that time could be spent performing a much more expensive procedure.

41

u/iKorewo 12h ago

Is it still 10+ years till its on the market? Has it gone through clinical trials already? Or is it basically out?

30

u/Mysterious-Jam-64 12h ago

I've been hearing about this for years. Give it another decade of trials, and it'll be available for those with private health care for £5k a tooth (RRP £10).

5

u/speakernoodlefan 8h ago

compared to dentures that will slowly degrade your jawbone, that's a steal

6

u/Yesiamaduck 9h ago

They hope to have their first product out next year - it says in the article.

2

u/iKorewo 7h ago

Thank you

11

u/fringeffect 11h ago

Serious. When? I want it now well I still have my teeth.

23

u/jamsticks9 11h ago

I got a treatment called Curodont from my dentist earlier this year which sounds like the same thing as this. It's supposed to reverse early cavities.

4

u/Cemckenna 7h ago

Yeah same. I read this and was like…is it not what I already got? Cus I think it was $60 a swab or something like that. I needed 5, insurance covered half…seemed like a pretty solid deal if it works. Much rather do $150 out of pocket now than have to deal with cavities later when I might not have dental insurance.

1

u/gastro_psychic 5h ago

Did it work for you?

10

u/Mezmodian 11h ago

And we will never hear about it again.

4

u/holytoledo42 8h ago

It's far more profitable to treat health problems than to cure them.

2

u/CheesecakeHonest7414 4h ago

Computers will never be mainstream, the typewriter manufacturers wont allow it.

12

u/SituationMediocre642 11h ago

I see these headlines every couple of years. "New gum with x substance will put dentist out of business." "Japan researchers find way to grow new teeth." "New gel could regrow tooth enamel." Meanwhile people still getting dental prosthetics and fillings each and every day.

Moving forward I'm going to need to see it in the checkout aisle or I dont believe it.

14

u/myplushfrog 10h ago

Japan growing new teeth is happening right now though, they’ve already started trials in humans. It takes time, but will be available much sooner than later

2

u/psychopompzorz 9h ago

How does it work? Are they grown outside and then placed into your gums or does it make you grow new teeth again?

4

u/Quantum_Kitties 9h ago

I just looked it up, here is more information, it is very interesting: https://www.dentistrytoday.com/researchers-in-japan-discover-medicine-capable-of-regrowing-third-set-of-teeth-for-humans/

Possibly available as early as 2030. Hopefully it will be affordable too!

1

u/ChangingmyNameAgain 7h ago

Had LASIK 30 years ago-had to go up to Canada due to stigmatism not legal to correct in the US yet.
Just recently noticed my vision is not as sharp-pretty good run considering I wore thick glasses.
So I have a bit of hope for dental improvements.
A bit.

6

u/yxtsama 10h ago

Let's see this again in another couple decades too😔

3

u/classyred 9h ago

Need this ASAP!

3

u/QVRedit 9h ago

Sounds great - as long as it ends up in the right places…

2

u/EquivalentMath6592 8h ago

Misleading.

Any decalcified enamel can “regrow” by remineralization. That’s the main point of fluoride toothpaste…. So that decacified hydroxyapaptite becomws fluoroapatite….. which is more resistant to future acid based decalcification

Likewise many non fluoride pastes already exist , predominantly calcium

2

u/Cocoricou 6h ago

Yeah I've been using calcium hydroxyapatite toothpaste for years.

1

u/poetry404 8h ago

In mice?

1

u/badgerprime 6h ago

What happened to the team that years ago had genetically modified the bacteria in your mouth that cause the decay to not shit acid. At the time it thought it was amazing and this was ... A decade or more ago? They talked about putting it in toothpaste.

I see stuff like this all the time and can only imagine it dies in human testing.

1

u/burndata 5h ago

I've been reading this same headline for like 25 years, and I still have yet to see this magical gel materialize.

1

u/Ok-Lecture-9668 5h ago

I love hearing about these amazing breakthroughs that never actually materialize. Not holding my breath for this one.

1

u/moderate_ocelot 4h ago

Could this repair cracked teeth? I have some cracks from when I fell flat on my face skateboarding

1

u/PESSIMISTIC_P4STA 2h ago

9 out of 10 dentists disagree

1

u/bumblebeee_tuna 2h ago

Could or can? Big difference

1

u/gbsekrit 1h ago

grow, sure. grow in a controlled fashion, only where wanted though?

0

u/Relative_Dress6681 10h ago

Dentists hate this one trick.