Technologies

A Dental Gel That Regenerates Your Enamel and Removes Cavities? What to Know

A product in development may use your saliva to regenerate enamel. Here’s how it works.

Dental fillings aren’t a pleasant way to fix cavities but they’re necessary to fill holes and prevent further damage. But now a research team at the University of Nottingham in the UK is working on a gel that could help prevent tooth decay and regenerate damaged tooth enamel.

According to research published in the journal Nature Communications this month, the gel works by containing a modified version of amelogenin, a protein that helps guide the growth of enamel in infants. The gel fills holes and cracks in the teeth when applied.

«The gel was able to grow crystals epitaxially, which means it’s in the same crystallographic orientation as existing enamel,» Alvaro Mata, a professor in Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials at the University of Nottingham, told New Scientist.

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Enamel is the hard layer of the tooth that shields the softer inner layers from damage caused by general wear and tear, acid and bacteria. Tooth decay happens when the enamel layer breaks down. Enamel doesn’t regenerate naturally, and while fluoride treatment and remineralization toothpaste that uses nano-hydroxyapatite can offer a temporary fix, they aren’t a permanent solution, unlike getting a dental filling.

The new gel creates a thin yet durable layer that adheres to the teeth for several weeks, using calcium and phosphate to stimulate the growth of new crystals in the enamel. In a separate email interview with CNET Mata explained how long he expects the gel to last. «The gel is biodegradable and the process to remineralize takes approximately two weeks.It is applied once, and it will endure as native enamel would, depending on people’s health habits.»

Research shows it works on heavily damaged enamel

«Dental enamel has a unique structure, which gives enamel its remarkable properties that protect our teeth throughout life against physical, chemical and thermal insults,» said Dr. Abshar Hasan, a postdoctoral fellow and leading author of the study. «When our material is applied to demineralized or eroded enamel, or exposed dentine, the material promotes the growth of crystals in an integrated and organized manner, recovering the architecture of our natural, healthy enamel.»

This process was effective even when the enamel was severely worn and the dentine below was exposed, according to the research.

«If used as a preventive solution, it can avoid getting to the dental filling stage,» said Mata. «In a way, it needs to be managed as a chronic disease where patients need to start at home with more education and care. Having said this, we have been working on this for 16 years, which has allowed us to develop quite a bit of know-how to understand, control and shape the technology. Because of this, we now have a versatile technology that will derive into multiple types of products. I believe that in the future, dental fillings will be a possibility.»

Mata says he’s «very excited because the technology has been designed with the clinician and patient in mind. It is safe, can be easily and rapidly applied, and it is scalable.» He’s started a startup called Mintech-Bio and hopes to have the first product out next year, according to New Scientist, following the clinical trial.

Dentists are cautiously optimistic

CNET reached out to several dentists to get their perspective on the gel.

Bianca Velayo, general dentist in Henderson, Nevada, and multi-practice owner at PDS Health, was cautious about the timeline.

«Dental materials like this rarely hit the market overnight, even with exciting results,» she says. «After early lab success, the real test is how it performs in the human mouth under real-world conditions: heat, saliva, bacteria, diet and daily habits. Between lab research, multiple trial phases and regulatory approval, it usually takes 5 to 10 years before we’d see a material like this in everyday dental use.»

However, Velayo also says she’s excited about the prospect of these replacing traditional dental fillings in the future.

«This gel hints at the future of dentistry, where we could actually regrow what’s been lost. It’s the difference between repairing and truly healing the tooth,» she says.

Another dentist and multi-practice owner at PDS Health, Ahmad Mokbil, said that the treatment has potential but he doesn’t believe it’ll be possible anytime soon, as it requires a shift in educating patients, dentists, dental coverage and treatment protocols. However, he pointed to existing technology that’s in use.

«We use an FDA-approved treatment called Curodont, which has similar characteristics and is effective for treating early tooth decay,» Mokbil says. «The number of applications required can vary depending on how the tooth responds, the size of the cavity and how early the intervention takes place.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: That’s not going anywhere.

Green group hint: End user or customer.

Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.

Purple group hint: Not noisy.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Fixed.

Green group: Receiver of goods or services.

Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.

Purple group: Silent ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.

Recent Wordle answers

Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT

Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC

Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK

Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL

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Technologies

Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription

Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.

Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.

The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.

While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.

What the Creator Studio bundle comes with

The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.

Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.

Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.

A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.

Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.