Scientists at Kings College London, have come up with a very unusual toothpaste – it was made using sheep’s wool. The scientists say the toothpaste can not only protect teeth, but can also help repair damaged teeth.
Teeth are one of the most important parts of the human body. But unlike bones or skin, adult teeth can’t repair themselves if they are damaged. The same is true for the outer layer of teeth – enamel.
The enamel that coats our teeth is the hardest material in the body. It’s a sort of crystal structure hardened by minerals. But over time, it can wear down. Sometimes, this is because of acids in foods and drinks. Sometimes it’s because a layer of “plaque” builds up on the teeth, causing acid that slowly damages the enamel.
(Source: Adapted from work by K. D. Schroeder [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
But even people who take great care of their teeth will have their enamel break down over time. When this happens, the teeth can rot more easily. When the enamel is gone, the nerves in the teeth can also be much more painful.
Most toothpaste contains fluoride. Fluoride can help add more minerals to tooth enamel, making it stronger. But toothpaste can’t bring back lost enamel. Once enamel is gone, the body can’t make more of it.
(Source: King’s College London.)
Scientists at Kings College London wanted to see if they could make something like enamel using keratin. Keratin is a protein in our bodies that helps make hair, skin, and fingernails strong and healthy. Keratin is also found in many animals – in horns, hooves, and feathers. And in sheep’s wool.
Sherif Elsharkawy, one of the scientists involved, said he wanted to find a natural way to try to bring back enamel. He thought keratin might do the trick. He says keratin has a “structure that can guide minerals into forming enamel-like crystals.”
(Source: King’s College London.)
The scientists took keratin from sheep’s wool. They found that when this keratin was mixed with saliva (spit), it pulled in minerals and turned them into a crystal structure very much like enamel. When the keratin-based toothpaste was applied to teeth in the laboratory, it patched holes in the enamel. Dr. Elsharkawy says the mixture created “a material as strong…as natural enamel.”
Current methods of repairing damaged teeth involve the use of materials and chemicals that can be dangerous. The new keratin method uses only natural ingredients, so it should be much safer. The scientists say the keratin-based structure is also far stronger and looks “much more natural”.
(Source: King’s College London.)
The researchers are excited, because keratin can be gotten from many sources that are normally wasted. One of these wasted sources of keratin is human hair. That means one day, there could be a toothpaste made with human hair.
The scientists say there is a lot of interest in their new keratin toothpaste. They believe that in the next 2 to 3 years, such a toothpaste could be ready for sale. They have created a new company to try to make this happen.