Tag Archives: tooth sensitivity

Relief from tooth sensitivity with magnetically guided nanobots

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An August 11, 2025 Indian Institute of Science (IISc) press release (also on EurekAlert) by Shruti Sharma announces research into improving relief for people with tooth sensitivity, Note: A link has been removed,

Sensitive teeth need tough toothpaste, but technology can also help. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in collaboration with deep-tech startup Theranautilus have now engineered CalBots – magnetic nanobots that can penetrate deep into dentinal tubules, which are tiny tunnels in teeth that lead to nerve endings. These CalBots can then form durable seals for worn enamel, offering lasting relief from sensitivity in just one application. The study is published in Advanced Science. 

The CalBots use a completely new class of bioceramic cement. While bioceramics are widely used in orthopaedics and dentistry for their mineralising properties, the team wanted a solution tailored for hypersensitivity – a formulation that could travel deeper and last longer. 

“We didn’t want to create a slightly better version of what’s already out there,” says Shanmukh Peddi, first author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc, and co-founder of Theranautilus. “We wanted a technology that solves a real problem in a way that no one’s attempted before.”

Dental hypersensitivity affects nearly one in four people worldwide. It occurs when microscopic tubules in the dentine – the layer beneath the enamel –become exposed due to erosion or gum recession. These tiny tubules lead directly to nerve endings, which is why even a sip of cold water can cause a sudden, stabbing pain. Most current solutions, such as desensitising toothpastes, offer only surface-level relief and need to be reapplied regularly. 

CalBots, however, are different. These 400 nanometre-sized magnetic particles, loaded with a proprietary calcium silicate-based bioceramic formula, are guided by an external magnetic field deep into the exposed tubules. They can reach depths of up to 300-500 micrometers inside the tubules. Once there, the bots self-assemble into stable, cement-like plugs that block the tubules and recreate a durable seal that mimics the natural environment of the tooth.  

To test their innovation, the team used human teeth extracted for clinical reasons and created conditions where the dentine was exposed. On these samples, they applied CalBots under a magnetic field for 20 minutes, during which the bots sealed the dentinal tubules by forming deep, stable plugs – a result confirmed through high-resolution imaging. Encouraged by this, they progressed to animal trials in collaboration with researchers at IISc’s Center for Neuroscience. It involved giving mice a choice between cold and room temperature water. Healthy mice preferred both equally. But the mice with induced tooth sensitivity avoided the cold water completely. 

“After we treated the sensitive mice with our CalBot solution, they started drinking cold water again – the treatment worked like a charm. We saw 100% behavioural recovery. That was a big moment for us,” Peddi says.

The CalBots are composed entirely of materials classified as ‘Generally Recognised as Safe’ (GRAS), ensuring high biocompatibility. Toxicity tests on mice showed no adverse effects. “This is a compelling demonstration of what nanorobotics can achieve, and how they could significantly impact future healthcare,” says Ambarish Ghosh, Professor at CeNSE and one of the corresponding authors of the study. “We’re excited to see this work progress toward clinical use.” 

While the immediate goal is to relieve sensitivity, the implications of this work extend much further. “We’ve created a regenerative, active nanomaterial – a step towards the kind of ‘tiny mechanical surgeons’ Richard Feynman once envisioned,” says Debayan Dasgupta, former PhD student at CeNSE, co-founder of Theranautilus and one of the corresponding authors.

“This is something we’ve worked towards silently for years,” adds Peddi. “And the fact that we’ve done it here, in India, makes us very happy.” 

I don’t think this will show up at your dentist’s office next week but here’s a sneak peak,

Caption: Microscopic images of CalBots inside teeth. Credit: Shanmukh Peddi, Debayan Dasgupta

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Directed Self-Assembly of Magnetic Bioceramic Deep Inside Dentinal Tubules May Alleviate Dental Hypersensitivity by Shanmukh Peddi, Prajwal Hegde, Prannay Reddy, Anaxee Barman, Arnab Barik, Debayan Dasgupta, Ambarish Ghosh. Advanced Science Volume 12, Issue 39 October 20, 2025 e07664 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202507664 First published online: 17 July 2025

This paper is open access.

You can find the startup Theranautilus here

Nanotechnology-enabled pain relief for tooth sensitivity

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A November 23, 2021 news item on phys.org announces research from Australia that may lead to pain relief for anyone with sensitive teeth,

In an Australian first, researchers from the University of Queensland have used nanotechnology to develop effective ways to manage tooth sensitivity.

Dr. Chun Xu from UQ’s [University of Queensland] School of Dentistry said the approach might provide more effective long-term pain relief for people with sensitive teeth, compared to current options.

A November 23, 2021 University of Queensland press release, which originated the news item, describes the condition leading to tooth sensitivity and how the proposed solution works (Note: Links have been removed),

“Dentin tubules are located in the dentin, one of the layers below the enamel surface of your teeth,” Dr Xu said.

“When tooth enamel has been worn down, and the dentin are exposed, eating or drinking something cold or hot can cause a sudden sharp flash of pain.

“The nanomaterials used in this preclinical study can rapidly block the exposed dentin tubules and prevent the unpleasant pain.

“Our approach acts faster and lasts longer than current treatment options.

“The materials could be developed into a paste, so people who have sensitive teeth could simply apply this paste to the tooth and massage for one to three minutes.

“The next step is clinical trials.”

Tooth sensitivity affects up to 74 per cent of the population, at times severely impacting quality of life and requiring expensive treatment.

“If clinical trials are successful people will benefit from this new method that can be used at home, without the need to go to a dentist in the near future,” Dr Xu said.

“We hope this study encourages more research using nanotechnology to address dental problems.”

The team also included researchers from UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN.

…

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Calcium-Doped Silica Nanoparticles Mixed with Phosphate-Doped Silica Nanoparticles for Rapid and Stable Occlusion of Dentin Tubules by Yuxue Cao, Chun Xu, Patricia P. Wright, Jingyu Liu, Yueqi Kong, Yue Wang, Xiaodan Huang, Hao Song, Jianye Fu, Fang Gao, Yang Liu, Laurence J. Walsh, and Chang Lei. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2021, 4, 9, 8761–8769 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.1c01365 Publication Date:August 25, 2021 Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

Regenerating dental enamel

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For anyone who’s concerned about their dental enamel, this research might prove encouraging. From a June 1, 2018 news item on Nanowerk,

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London [UK][ have developed a new way to grow mineralised materials which could regenerate hard tissues such as dental enamel and bone.

Enamel, located on the outer part of our teeth, is the hardest tissue in the body and enables our teeth to function for a large part of our lifetime despite biting forces, exposure to acidic foods and drinks and extreme temperatures. This remarkable performance results from its highly organised structure.

However, unlike other tissues of the body, enamel cannot regenerate once it is lost, which can lead to pain and tooth loss. These problems affect more than 50 per cent of the world’s population and so finding ways to recreate enamel has long been a major need in dentistry.

A June 1, 2018 Queen Mary University of London press release, which originated the news item, provides more detail,

The study, published in Nature Communications, shows that this new approach can create materials with remarkable precision and order that look and behave like dental enamel.

The materials could be used for a wide variety of dental complications such as the prevention and treatment of tooth decay or tooth sensitivity – also known as dentin hypersensitivity.

Simple and versatile

Dr Sherif Elsharkawy, a dentist and first author of the study from Queen Mary’s School of Engineering and Materials Science, said: “This is exciting because the simplicity and versatility of the mineralisation platform opens up opportunities to treat and regenerate dental tissues. For example, we could develop acid resistant bandages that can infiltrate, mineralise, and shield exposed dentinal tubules of human teeth for the treatment of dentin hypersensitivity.”

The mechanism that has been developed is based on a specific protein material that is able to trigger and guide the growth of apatite nanocrystals at multiple scales – similarly to how these crystals grow when dental enamel develops in our body. This structural organisation is critical for the outstanding physical properties exhibited by natural dental enamel.

Lead author Professor Alvaro Mata, also from Queen Mary’s School of Engineering and Materials Science, said: “A major goal in materials science is to learn from nature to develop useful materials based on the precise control of molecular building-blocks. The key discovery has been the possibility to exploit disordered proteins to control and guide the process of mineralisation at multiple scales. Through this, we have developed a technique to easily grow synthetic materials that emulate such hierarchically organised architecture over large areas and with the capacity to tune their properties.”

Mimic other hard tissues

Enabling control of the mineralisation process opens the possibility to create materials with properties that mimic different hard tissues beyond enamel such as bone and dentin. As such, the work has the potential to be used in a variety of applications in regenerative medicine. In addition, the study also provides insights into the role of protein disorder in human physiology and pathology.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Protein disorder–order interplay to guide the growth of hierarchical mineralized structures by Sherif Elsharkawy, Maisoon Al-Jawad, Maria F. Pantano, Esther Tejeda-Montes, Khushbu Mehta, Hasan Jamal, Shweta Agarwal, Kseniya Shuturminska, Alistair Rice, Nadezda V. Tarakina, Rory M. Wilson, Andy J. Bushby, Matilde Alonso, Jose C. Rodriguez-Cabello, Ettore Barbieri, Armando del Río Hernández, Molly M. Stevens, Nicola M. Pugno, Paul Anderson, & Alvaro Mata. Nature Communicationsvolume 9, Article number: 2145 (2018) Published 01 June 2018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04319-0

This paper is open access.

One final comment, this work is at the ‘in vitro’ stage. More colloquially, this is being done in a petri dish or glass vial or some other container and it’s going to be a long time before there are going to be any human clinical trials, assuming the work gets that far.

Nano with green tea for sensitive teeth

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The future will be beautiful if scientists are successful with a new DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sunscreen (my Aug. 3, 2017 posting) and a new dental material for people with sensitive teeth. From an Aug. 2, 2017 news item on phys.org,

An ice cold drink is refreshing in the summer, but for people with sensitive teeth, it can cause a painful jolt in the mouth. This condition can be treated, but many current approaches don’t last long. Now researchers report in the journal ACS [American Chemical Society] Applied Materials & Interfaces the development of a new material with an extract from green tea that could fix this problem—and help prevent cavities in these susceptible patients.

An Aug. 2, 2017 ACS news release, which originated the news item, describes the problem and the work in more detail,

Tooth sensitivity commonly occurs when the protective layers of teeth are worn away, revealing a bony tissue called dentin. This tissue contains microscopic hollow tubes that, when exposed, allow hot and cold liquids and food to contact the underlying nerve endings in the teeth, causing pain. Unprotected dentin is also vulnerable to cavity formation. Plugging these tubes with a mineral called nanohydroxyapatite is a long-standing approach to treating sensitivity. But the material doesn’t stand up well to regular brushing, grinding, erosion or acid produced by cavity-causing bacteria. Cui Huang and colleagues wanted to tackle sensitivity and beat the bacteria at the same time.

The researchers encapsulated nanohydroxyapatite and a green tea polyphenol — epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG — in silica nanoparticles, which can stand up to acid and wear and tear. EGCG has been shown in previous studies to fight Streptococcus mutans, which forms biofilms that cause cavities. Testing on extracted wisdom teeth showed that the material plugged the dentin tubules, released EGCG for at least 96 hours, stood up to tooth erosion and brushing and prevented biofilm formation. It also showed low toxicity. Based on these findings, the researchers say the material could indeed be a good candidate for combating tooth sensitivity and cavities.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Development of Epigallocatechin-3-gallate-Encapsulated Nanohydroxyapatite/Mesoporous Silica for Therapeutic Management of Dentin Surface by Jian Yu, Hongye Yang, Kang Li, Hongyu Ren, Jinmei Lei, and Cui Huang. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, Article ASAP DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b06597 Publication Date (Web): July 13, 2017

Copyright © 2017 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.