New Calcium Gel Could Help to Promote Bone Growth Following Extraction

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Researchers in France are trialling a new gel filling made from calcium, which may help to prevent complications and promote new bone growth following extraction.

The new gel filling would be inserted into the tooth socket after an extraction procedure and researchers hope this would prevent complications and unpleasant side-effects and facilitate new bone growth to lower the risk of bone loss and shrinkage in the jaw. Bone loss is a fairly common complication of extraction and it can make you look older, as well as affecting the suitability of some tooth replacement treatments, such as dental implants.

At the moment, the only way to restore and build up bone tissue in the jaw is grafting. However, researchers in France are hoping to change this with the use of a new calcium gel. The gel, which is deigned to act as a bone substitute, is being trialled at Nantes University Hospital. It is made from minute calcium phosphate granules and the aim is for the body’s growth stimulators to penetrate the filling and encourage new bone growth. Within six months, the filling will have disappeared and the socket will be filled with bony tissue.

Speaking about the trial, scientific adviser to the British Dental Association and professor of restorative dentistry at the University of Birmingham, Damien Walmsley, said that the concept was “interesting” and the theory seemed “like a good approach to preserving the bone.”

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