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Dental lasers to remove decay Wednesday, 31 January, 2001, 00:16 GMT - Clinical trials of a technique that could cut down on the need for dentists to use their drill to get rid of tooth decay are about to start. The technology, which uses light and a photosensitiser to kill bacteria, could also replace antibiotics used to treat infectious diseases. Professor Gavin Pearson, of Eastman Dental Hospital, will be conducting the first trial of the technology. Until now the only way to remove tooth decay is to drill away a large section of the affected tooth. The new technique requires only a small amount of drilling to access the affected area. And because it is only necessary to drill through the tough outer coating of the tooth - the enamel - where there are no nerve endings, it should be pain free. Prof Pearson then injects what is called a photosensitiser, which attaches itself to the bacteria causing the decay. When the photosensitiser is irradiated with light the molecules are put into a high state of activity which combines with oxygen to form a very active form of oxygen known as Singlet Oxygen. Singlet Oxygen is effectively a bacteria-killing machine. Professor Michael Wilson, of Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, who developed the technique, said: "Singlet Oxygen will basically react with almost anything in its path, and the first thing it will come in contact with is the wall and membrane of the infecting bacterium. "So what it does once it interacts, once it binds to that wall, it just basically destroys the molecules there and so the bacterium dies." The technique has been trialled successfully in the laboratory. The clinical experiment is to discover how equipment can be better designed for real situations. Prof Pearson said: "I'm hoping that the advantages of 'pain-free' dentistry are going to make the people who are concerned and don't like visiting the dentist come in." The technique has already been used in a laboratory setting to kill the so-called hospital superbug Methicillan-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). Prof Wilson believes it could provide a powerful and much needed alternative to antibiotics. He said: "It's one of the first new anti-microbial chemotherapeutics to be developed for many a year. "We've been relying totally on antibiotics and there have been no new classes of antibiotics come into clinical practice for about 20 years. "So we've been relying on variations of current antibiotics and previous antibiotics, so this is a totally new approach. It's very exciting indeed." Related to this story: Chew gum 'to beat tooth decay' (07 Jun 00 | Health) Soft drinks 'good for teeth' (09 Apr 00 | Health) Regular brushers still 'risk decay' (23 Mar 00 | Health) Internet links: Eastman Dental Institute British Dental Association BBC News Online: Health http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/health/newsid_1142000/1142987.stm janet paterson, an akinetic rigid subtype parkie 53 now / 44 dx cd / 43 onset cd / 41 dx pd / 37 onset pd TEL: 613 256 8340 SMAIL: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada EMAIL: [log in to unmask] URL: http://www.geocities.com/janet313/