sagansense: Say good-bye to root canals and fillings! The...

sagansense:

Say good-bye to root canals and fillings! The Gizmodo article (excerpt below) has the story….

The current study builds on years of anecdotal reports about low-power laser stimulating skin or hair growth. (Yes, at the same time high-power lasers do the opposite.) Something about laser light stimulates certain biological pathways in cells. Scientists have now figured what that something is when it comes to dentin. A blast of laser induces reactive oxygen species, which are chemically active molecules that then activate a growth factor to stimulate dentin growth.

Although studies have regenerated parts of a tooth from stem cells in a petri dish before, the laser procedure can happen right in the mouth. This study’s authors got it to work in tiny rodent teeth, and now they’re continuing onto human clinical trials in hope it could someday replace some current dental procedures. I don’t know if the thought of even low-power lasers makes the dentist less terrifying, but I’d take it over a root canal. [Science Translational Medicine]

source http://professionaldentalcareuk.tumblr.com/post/152372782281