Chinese researchers are a step closer to being able to regrow tooth enamel in the mouth. Haifeng Chen and colleagues at Peking University, Beijing, etched a tooth's surface with phosphoric acid to create nucleation sites and then immersed it in a solution of calcium, phosphate and fluoride ions. The ions reacted at the nucleation sites, with help from a chelating agent called N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylene-diamine-N,N,N -triacetic acid (HEDTA), to form a new layer of enamel.
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