DR DANISEL GIL

Tooth Regeneration Gel Could Replace Painful Fillings Could this new gel be the biggest dental breakthrough since the introduction of fluoride? By Eric Bland | Mon Jun 28, 2010 06:00 AM ET Dentists could soon hang up their drills. A new peptide, embedded in a soft gel or a thin, flexible film and placed next to a cavity, encourages cells inside teeth to regenerate in about a month, according to a new study in the journal ACS Nano. This technology is the first of its kind. The new gel or thin film could eliminate the need to fill painful cavities or drill deep into the root canal of an infected tooth. "It's not like toothpaste," which prevent cavities, said Nadia Benkirane-Jessel, a scientist at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale and a co-author of a recent paper. "Here we are really trying to control cavities (after they develop)." Drilling teeth and filling them is safe and effective. Dentists fill millions of cavities each year acros