Cavity

If you needed more motivation to brush your teeth, this could do the trick. Scientists have discovered that cavity-causing bacteria and fungi in saliva can team up to form “superorganisms” that can sprout limbs to crawl and even leap across teeth.

Like many menial tasks, there may soon be a way to outsource brushing your teeth to robots. A new system of microrobots can change shape to form bristles or floss, and don’t just brush plaque away but release antimicrobials to kill bad bacteria.

A newly developed optical device is designed to reveal at-risk areas of our teeth by detecting hotspots of high acidity in dental plaque, where conditions are ripe for decay to take hold and cavities to form.

For people with particularly cavity-prone teeth, daily brushing and flossing aren't always enough. A new treatment could help, as it uses tiny particles known as nanozymes to break down plaque and kill cavity-causing bacteria.

With their often high-sugar diets and lax brushing habits, many children are particularly susceptible to cavities. An experimental new treatment could help, however, using enzymes to weaken the plaque that forms on the teeth.

For many cavity-prone people, tooth-brushing often just isn't enough. It was with such folks in mind that a new mouthwash-based system was recently developed, which reportedly uses light to kill problematic bacteria.

​Getting a filling isn't always the end of a tooth's cavity problems. Sometimes, bacteria is able to get down between the filling and the surface of the tooth, causing another cavity to occur. A new antibacterial dental restorative material, however, could help keep that from happening.

When you get a cavity filled, you may just assume that the fix will last indefinitely. In fact, though, fillings do have a limited lifespan. That said, a new dental material – and a new adhesive to keep it inside the tooth – could allow fillings to last longer than ever before.

​We've already heard about a probiotic pill, an Alzheimer's-treatment drug and a mineral-replacing toothpaste that could treat or even prevent cavities. Now, scientists at the University of Washington have developed a natural product of their own that may do the job.

​There are currently two main ways in which dentists look for cavities: visual inspections and x-rays. Now, technology being developed at Toronto's York University could provide a more effective alternative.

Dental cavities are one of those things where the sooner you catch them, the better. Dentists' visual inspections and x-rays certainly help, but a new hand-held device is designed to detect them even earlier. It's called the Ortek ECD, and it hunts cavities using electricity.

You might think that with today's composite dental fillings, once you get a tooth filled, it's good for life. According to Prof. Jamie Kruzic, however, "almost all fillings will eventually fail." That's why he's part of a team that's looking into a longer-lasting filling material: bioactive glass.