Enamel, Reimagined: Between Promise, Proof, and the Human Need to Believe

Authors

  • Neil Wood

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/

Keywords:

remineralisation, regenerative

Abstract

I was recently confronted with the question from a curious young patient: “why can’t teeth heal themselves the way skin
does?” I suspect it is a question every clinician hears at some point, sometimes from a child bewildered by their first cavity,
sometimes from an adult facing years of cumulative enamel loss. And if we are honest, it is a question that unsettles even some of us. Why can’t enamel regenerate? Why does the hardest tissue in the human body have no capacity for repair beyond remineralisation at its surface? While for some the answer is obvious and any discussion on this is without
value, however, what if…

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References

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Published

2025-10-31

How to Cite

Wood, N. (2025). Enamel, Reimagined: Between Promise, Proof, and the Human Need to Believe. South African Dental Journal, 80(09), 461-465. https://doi.org/10.17159/

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