Tideglusib: Is this the end of dental fillings, dental drills and cavities?
/ Blog
You’ve got a nasty hole in your tooth and you can’t keep putting it off; the pesky dental appointment to get that cavity filled.
But what’s this? The hole feels smaller. How can that be? A cavity can’t repair itself; a tooth can’t just regrow, can it?
Spooky though it might seem, we are on the verge of exactly that possibility; teeth that can miraculously repair themselves; rotten teeth and cavities that can rejuvenate cell by cell until your tooth is as it once was.
It all comes down to a strangely named drug called Tideglusib. Not originally intended for any dental application, Tideglusib may, nevertheless, be about to revolutionise the entire industry.
What is Tideglusib?
Well, it’s a highly potent, very selective and seemingly irreversible small molecule, non-ATP-competitive glycogen synthase kinase 3 inhibitor. Wish you hadn’t asked? Actually, you didn’t; we did. But, all impossible science aside, Tideglusib is an exciting new drug with promising results in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and myotonic muscular dystrophy.
If it proves to have a positive impact on even one of these debilitating illnesses, Tideglusib will be worth its weight in gold. Yet, here it is adding that weight to an entirely different sphere; dentistry.
How does Tideglusib work?
Well, early days, but initial research is highly promising. Activating stem cells at the centre of teeth can help to repair small holes and cracks. And now it seems Tideglusib can dramatically enhance this process and help our teeth to actually rebuild cavities.
What could it mean for your teeth?
If you’re in the least bit nervous about dental visits, this will be music to your ears; Tideglusib may well lead to a lot fewer drills and a lot less dental fillings. And even though the whole process is now far less stressful than it once was, it will still be good news for all.
If you’ve ever had a tooth that needed to the repaired and filled many times, say due to a tooth cavity, there comes a point where that tooth has to be removed. This exciting new drug may eliminate all that by encouraging the tooth to repair itself before the first filling is even required.
What does it mean for dentists?
Clearly, if Tideglusib becomes a professional option for dentists, it will replace much of the dental work currently undertaken. There will still be a process involved, but with natural tooth structure being replaced with live cells, it’s a process most dentists will encourage and support.
When will Tideglusib be available?
No clear date has been set for a release as yet. Tideglusib is still very much in the trial stages and as we all know, such trials leave no stone unturned; or in this case, tooth. It will be a while yet as researchers will rightly consider every possible scenario before any new drug goes on the market.
Suffice to say it will be a good day when Tideglusib arrives on the scene.
