DISCOVERY! Keratin extracted from sheep's wool repairs teeth in breakthrough

Here's a discovery I can "sink my teeth in" - something to repair teeth. As someone who has "soft teeth" from tetracycline. Back in the 1960s and 70s if your mom took tetracycline, you likely have cavity prone teeth with weak enamel. It's a fact that tetracycline given to pregnant women can make a baby's teeth weaker by binding to calcium in developing teeth, causing discoloration and potentially contributing to enamel hypoplasia (thinning of enamel). Now there's something that may offer a little help.

(Image:  This study establishes keratin as a promising, sustainable platform for functional enamel regeneration, offering a clinically translatable approach for repairing demineralized dental enamel lesions and restoring enamel architecture. Credit:  Sara Gamea, Elham Radvar, Dimitra Athanasiadou, Ryan Lee Chan, Giacomo De Sero, Ecaterina Ware, Sunie Kundi, Avir Patel, Shwan Horamee, Shuaib Hadadi, Mads Carlsen, Leanne Allison, Roland Fleck, Ka Lung Andrew Chan, Avijit Banerjee, Nicola Pugno, Marianne Liebi, Paul T Sharpe, Karina Carneiro, Sherif Elsharkawy 

12 August 2025

 

https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202502465)

Keratin extracted from sheep's wool repairs teeth in breakthrough

LIVE SCIENCE, Skyler Ware published August 19, 2025

Dental treatments from sheep’s wool and other hair could be used to coat teeth to repair enamel and prevent tooth decay, according to a new study.

After extracting keratin — a protein found in hair, skin and fingernails — from wool and applying it to teeth, scientists found that the substance formed a protective crystal-like coating that mimicked natural tooth enamel.

The finding could support sustainable, low-cost treatments for early tooth decay within the next two to three years, according to the researchers.They reported their findings August 12 in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.

"Keratin offers a transformative alternative to current dental treatments," study coauthor Sara Gamea, a dentistry researcher at King's College London, said in the statement.

 "Not only is it sustainably sourced from biological waste materials like hair and skin, it also eliminates the need for traditional plastic resins, commonly used in restorative dentistry, which are toxic and less durable. Keratin also looks much more natural than these treatments, as it can more closely match the color of the original tooth."

Untreated tooth decay is the world's most common oral health condition, affecting some 2 billion people worldwide. Over time, acidic foods, poor oral hygiene, and everyday wear and tear can break down the protective enamel that covers a person's teeth. Losing that enamel can lead to pain, cavities and tooth loss.

"Unlike bones and hair, enamel does not regenerate," study coauthor Sherif Elsharkawy, a researcher specializing in prosthodontics at King's College London, said in a statement. "Once it's gone, it's lost forever."