Looking for an effective, sustainable toothpaste? It might be on top of your head.<\/p>\n
Scientists have discovered that keratin, a protein found in hair, skin, and wool, can repair tooth enamel and stop tooth decay. It might also protect teeth even better than conventional fluoride-based toothpastes, stopping tooth decay in its tracks, according to a new study.<\/p>\n
When keratin comes into contact with saliva, it forms a protective coating that mimics natural enamel, the study shows. Not only can it shield teeth from further damage, but it may also help repair enamel\u2014something traditional toothpastes can\u2019t do.<\/p>\n
The findings are published in Advanced Healthcare Materials.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cKeratin 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,\u201d Sara Gamea, a graduate student at King\u2019s College London and first author of the study, said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tooth enamel wears away with age, leading to tooth sensitivity and eventually a need for dentures. This process is hastened by acidic foods and poor oral hygiene. And once enamel is gone, it\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n Fluoride toothpaste can slow this process but not stop it. What can? Keratin, apparently. The protein forms a dense crystal-like scaffold that mimics the structure, color, and function of actual enamel, the new study found.<\/p>\n Over time, the scaffold continues to attract calcium and phosphate ions, leading to the growth of an enamel-like coating on teeth. That means keratin-based toothpaste could potentially repair lost enamel and seal exposed nerves\u2014reversing the symptoms of enamel erosion.<\/p>\n The study authors used keratin extracted from wool in their study but said it could also be extracted from other sources, including human hair.\u00a0This is a huge step for regenerative dentistry, the researchers say. It\u2019s also good for the environment, providing a biodegradable alternative to conventional toothpastes.\u00a0And happily, consumers might not have to wait long to purchase a keratin-based toothpaste; the researchers say it could hit the market in the next two to three years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are entering an exciting era where biotechnology allows us to not just treat symptoms but restore biological function using the body\u2019s 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,\u201d Sherif Elsharkawy, the study\u2019s lead author and consultant in prosthodontics at King\u2019s College London, said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking for an effective, sustainable toothpaste? It might be on top of your head. Scientists have discovered that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[61349,97,21317,61350],"class_list":["post-89543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-dentistry","tag-health","tag-teeth","tag-toothpastes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}