英国发明牙齿治疗新技术

 　　LONDON, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Drillings and fillings at the dentist's are always dreadful and make tooth decay treatment very unpleasant.

　　But British scientists have developed a new approach of fixing tooth decay, which could get rid of all the drillings, injections and fillings -- and unpleasantness, a press release by King's College London (KCL) said on Monday.

　　Dentists normally treat caries in a tooth by drilling to remove the decay and filling the tooth with a material such as amalgam¹ or composite resin². But scientists at King's College London (KCL) took a different approach, one that re-builds the tooth and heals it without the need for drills, needles or amalgam.

　　British scientists develop drill-free tooth treatment

　　By accelerating the natural process by which calcium³ and phosphate minerals re-enter the tooth to repair a defect, the device boosts the tooth's natural repair process.

　　The new method could be in use at the dentist's chair in the next 3 years, according to researchers.

　　The two-step method first prepares the damaged part of the enamel⁴ outer layer of the tooth, then uses a tiny electric current to 'push' minerals into the tooth to repair the damaged site. The defect is remineralised in a painless process that requires no drills, no injections and no filling materials.

　　Electric currents are already used by dentists to check the pulp⁵ or nerve of a tooth; the new device uses a far smaller current than that currently used on patients and which cannot be felt by the patient.

　　Professor Nigel Pitts from KCL said: "Not only is our device kinder to the patient and better for their teeth, but it's expected to be at least as cost-effective as current dental treatments. Along with fighting tooth decay, our device can also be used to whiten teeth."

1 amalgam   

n.混合物；汞合金

参考例句：

• To counter this myth,we explained that we're really an amalgam of little guys.为了打破这个神话，我们解释说，我们确实是由一群小小的老百姓所组成的混合体。
• American literature is to our eyes a curious amalgam of familiar and strange.我们认为，美国文学把我们所熟悉的和陌生的东西奇妙地结合起来了。

2 resin   

n.树脂，松香，树脂制品；vt.涂树脂

参考例句：

• This allyl type resin is a highly transparent, colourless material.这种烯丙基型的树脂是一种高度透明的、无色材料。
• This is referred to as a thixotropic property of the resin.这种特性叫做树脂的触变性。

3 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

4 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

5 pulp   

n.果肉，纸浆；v.化成纸浆，除去...果肉，制成纸浆

参考例句：

• The pulp of this watermelon is too spongy.这西瓜瓤儿太肉了。
• The company manufactures pulp and paper products.这个公司制造纸浆和纸产品。