@shedim interesting. Is there any risk of staining teeth? Are you saying you actually had bone regrowth doing this?

@donovan all the studies for HPA seem to be on incipient decay, not progressed decay with destroyed enamel and tooth structure, so there’s no clear research I’ve found on the structure being re-formed through the introduction of enamel-like components. Possible that scientists just assume it isn’t possible so they haven’t studied it, although it seems plausible that if you can restrengthen existing enamel with calcium and phosphorus those same minerals will reform the structure itself.

A novel way to repair tooth enamel - Zhejiang University
PubMed link to study

It's widely believed that enamel can be remineralized, but not replaced on a part of a tooth once it's gone. This Chinese study has shown enamel "regrowth" (I say "regrowth" in quotes because enamel is not living tissue so it's technically being 'deposited' rather than "grown") with only the components calcium, phosphorus, and trimethylamine as a stabilizing agent. Calcium and phosphorus are the minerals used for natural remineralization by saliva. The thinking went that once the matrix-structure of enamel has been destroyed, it is not possible for it to remineralize, as the structure is necessary for the correct placement of minerals. This study seems to show that it is in fact possible using only natural components found in saliva.

Let me know if you find any errors in my interpretation of this study.

@HubblyBubbly the enamel on the tooth can be destroyed if it is not cleaned and bacteria is left to dissolve it with acid over a long period of time, like in drug addiction or depression when hygiene is not kept, or bulimia.

@HubblyBubbly i’m talking about regrowing, not remineralizing enamel. The thinking goes, once the enamel is destroyed, there is no structure for hydroxyapatite to be deposited into.

Seems like one of the most confounding problems in medicine. I’m not talking about remineralizing existing enamel, I’m talking about replacing it once it’s gone and the enamel matrix has been destroyed on a part of the tooth.