The Engineer is reporting about OSspray, a British company that has developed a dental bioactive calcium sodium phosphosilicate material that, in addition to polishing teeth, remineralizes them, supposedly reducing sensitivity of the teeth.
OSspray’s bioglass is a composite of component chemicals loosely held together in a 45 per cent silica network. When the powder, consisting of particles around 50 microns in size, is fired at the surface of the tooth, the compound fractures so it does not damage the surface of the tooth. There is so little silica in that network that the calcium and phosphorus in the structure can imbed into the tooth surface, remineralising and desensitising the surface of the tooth.
‘Tooth dentine consists of fluid-filled tubules, like drinking straws,’ said Simon Cartmell, chairman of OSspray. ‘On the biting surface they are covered with enamel, but in the gumline the tubules are exposed. Our material, because of its particle size and distribution, embeds in the mouth of the tubules, bonding to the surface and locking them off. After repeated use, you build up a thin layer of bioglass, which is remarkably like tooth enamel.’
