New Artificial Enamel is Harder and More Durable Than the Real Thing
Article

New Artificial Enamel is Harder and More Durable Than the Real Thing

Novel material mimics enamel’s complex structure with stronger components

Graycen Wheeler
Science, 2022
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After years of effort, scientists have finally created a substance that proves as durable and flexible as human tooth enamel. Issues persist, such as finding a way to bond artificial enamel with natural tooth material. But researchers remain excited about the possibilities of applying artificial enamel in areas of tooth repair, electronics and infrastructure.

Summary

Researchers created an artificial enamel substance that is more durable than natural human tooth enamel.

Artificial enamel could have many uses beyond repairing teeth.

Over time, scientists have struggled to create artificial enamel because of its “many nested modes of organization, like wool fibers spun into yarn and then knitted into a cable-knit sweater.” Phosphorus, calcium and oxygen atoms must form a complicated pattern that resembles “crystalline wires” to form enamel. Cells that specifically produce enamel then coat the wires with a magnesium-based covering. This material further strengthens into complex structures.

Enamel’s intricate architecture has hindered previous attempts to recreate it.

Past research teams have used amino acid ...

About the Author

Graycen Wheeler is a contributing writer to Science magazine. She is a master’s student in the science communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She completed a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder.

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