Farewell Toothbrush And Dentists’ Drill

Amazing but true – the dentist’s drill, which has featured as the main villain in the mass phobia of dental check-ups, is on its way out! Joining the drill on the endangered list is the toothbrush.

Both these items can lay the blame at the door of researchers at the Leeds Dental Institute. While the replacement for the drill is a derivative from a new protein that facilitates natural repair of holes in the tooth enamel, the toothbrush’s replacement is a new kind of mouthwash.

While the drill has a slightly longer time to go, approximately five years from now, the toothpaste could become history over the next three years itself. The two radical new inventions are set to change the world of dental care.

The prospective replacement for the drill, the new protein, would basically build a scaffold to attract the minerals that form tooth enamel. Painting the substance on the teeth can arrest damage in the early stages of decay. The same treatment could also be used to fill ruptures in the teeth's dentine, which cause sensitivity to hot and cold food.

The new mouthwash, which is part of a photo dynamic therapy, uses a molecule to destroy bacteria in the mouth when activated by a high-intensity light. It proposes to do away with the toothbrush as a manner of fighting plaque.

Prof Jennifer Kirkham, Research Director at the institute where the research was done, said the mouthwash and photo therapy could also be used to treat gum disease and kill bacteria through insertion below the gum line with a small fiber optic light source.

While the inspiration behind the photo dynamic therapy was cancerdefine treatment; the alternative to drilling took shape as a way to surmount the fear psychosis associated with the drill.

However, both the inventions have a long way to go before they are unleashed on to the market. They would first have to undergo a series of trials and safety checks, and only after they cleared the tests and checks could one think of getting them in the market.

Speaking about the new mouthwash, Prof. Kirkham said, “At the moment we are not saying it is going to take over from brushing because the trials have not been done yet. We have to look at how much it is going to cost, at the moment is it is very cheap.”

Prof. Kirkham added, “We would wish to explore its full potential across the whole patient community and look at all the potential benefits over and above what is already out there.”

The team of researchers will be based at the new translational research center due to be opened next year following a £1.5 million investment by the University of Leeds.