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ADRXXX10.1177/0022034517737026Advances in Dental ResearchPitts and Wright
Advances
Advances in Dental Research
2018, Vol. 29(1) 48–54
Reminova and EAER: Keeping Enamel © International & American Associations
for Dental Research 2018
Abstract
This article aims to outline the early development of a King’s College London dental spinout company, Reminova, formed to commercialize
a novel clinical method of caries remineralization: electrically accelerated and enhanced remineralization (EAER). This method is being
developed to address the unmet clinical need identified by modern caries management strategies to keep enamel “whole” through
remineralization of clinical caries as a form of nonoperative caries treatment for initial-stage and moderate lesions. A progressive
movement within dentistry is shifting away from the restorative-only model, which, it is suggested, has failed. The high prevalence of
initial-stage caries across populations provides a significant opportunity to prevent restorations and reduce repeat restorations over
a patient’s lifetime. Reminova has set out to provide a method to repair lesions without drilling, filling, pain, or injections. The article
outlines the rationale for and the chronological stages of the technology and company development. It then outlines corroborative
evidence to show that EAER treatment can, in this preliminary in vitro investigation, remineralize clinically significant caries throughout
the depth of the lesion as measured by Knoop microhardness and corroborated by scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, the
presented data show that EAER-treated enamel is harder than the healthy enamel measured nearby in each sample and is very similar
in appearance to healthy enamel from the subjective interpretation made possible by scanning electron microscopy imagery. The data
presented also show that this more “complete” remineralization to a high hardness level has been achieved with 2 remineralizing agents
via in vitro human tooth samples. The broad clinical potential of this new treatment methodology seems to be very encouraging from
these results. Reminova will strive to continue its mission, to ensure that, in the future, dental teams will not need to drill holes for the
treatment of initial-stage and moderate caries lesions.
Keywords: dentistry, dental caries, dental white spots, secondary prevention, therapeutics, iontophoresis
How to Keep Enamel Whole: The Unmet Clinical caries represents a significant opportunity to prevent restorations
Need Linked to Modern Caries Management and repeat restorations and to improve patient experience and
well-being. Therefore, there is now a sharper focus on more
This section sets out the rationale for developing Reminova minimally interventive treatments for caries and on more patient-
and its future products. Dental caries continues to be the most centered approaches to reducing anxiety and fear of the dentist.
prevalent, costly, preventable, and silent global epidemic in Dentistry needs new treatments that fit these approaches if it is
humankind. Ninety-eight percent of the world’s population to successfully move away from the restorative-only model,
will have caries across the life course (Petersen 2008), while which fails economically and clinically and for patients (Pitts
35% of all ages combined (2.4 billion individuals globally) and Zero 2016).
were estimated in the Global Burden of Disease Study to have However, despite the increasing consensus on addressing
untreated cavities in permanent teeth (Marcenes et al. 2013). this need for caries prevention and control through nonsurgical
Some $350 billion is spent annually treating caries in terms of care, in reality there has been a frustrating lack of progress
treatment costs and the resultant losses to the global economy since the 1970s. Remineralization has been well described in
(Listl et al. 2015), and approximately 30% of people do not vivo (Koulourides 1968) and clinically with the concept of a
regularly visit the dentist (Oral Health Foundation 2017), caries balance (Pitts 1983). Lack of progress has been marked
mostly because traditional approach to caries prevention and in 2 important areas. First is the lack of tools to produce effec-
management is not working for many patients or for society. tive remineralization (Silverstone 1972) deep into caries
When considering the prevalence of disease and the distri- lesions to exploit caries being understood as a “dynamic dis-
bution of different stages and sizes of caries lesions at a popu- ease process” (Featherstone 2008); Figure 1 summarizes the
lation level, we are hampered by the historical World Health slow progress in using remineralization as a clinical tool and
Organization convention, in traditional epidemiologic surveys, the aim for the EAER technology. Second, there has for
to score only established cavitated caries in dentine (Pitts decades been a lack of parallel developments with health sys-
1994). However, the inclusion of initial-stage lesions in addi- tems worldwide to pay dental teams for delivering comprehen-
tion to moderate and advanced stages is becoming more com- sive caries detection, risk assessment, and prevention—as
mon with the use of criteria such as the International Caries opposed to perverse and continuing incentives for restorative
Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS; Ismail et al. 2007). interventions (Pitts 2004; Pitts and Zero 2016). There are dis-
Data on 15-y-old children from the 2013 National Child Dental turbing indications that a significant proportion of dentists and
Health Survey of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland under- therapists still say that they would intervene invasively (restor-
line the fact that the prevalence of initial-stage caries across atively) on carious lesions where evidence and clinical recom-
populations is high (Pitts et al. 2015; Pitts et al. 2017), thereby mendations indicate that less invasive therapies should be used
providing a significant opportunity for secondary prevention. (Innes and Schwendicke 2017).
The percentage of children classified as having caries was 11% There are now some encouraging recent signs of progress. For
with inclusion of only ICDAS 5 and 6 lesions (equivalent to instance, Reminova is developing a practice- and patient-friendly
World Health Organization criteria), but when moderate den- clinical remineralization system that will provide an alternative
tine lesions (ICDAS 4) were included, this rose to 21% and care choice to minimize the need for conventional fillings; also,
with cavitated enamel lesions (ICDAS 3), to 25%. However, broad discussions in a number of countries have revolved around
the percentage of children with caries dramatically increased to the introduction of further diagnostic and treatment codes and the
52% when noncavitated enamel lesions (ICDAS 1 and 2) were promotion of economic incentives in this area. A further stimulus
also included (Pitts et al. 2017). This proportion would increase for change in favor of caries prevention is the ratification of the
still further if radiographic information were also available United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Minamata
(Agustsdottir et al. 2010). Convention to phase down the use of amalgam and restorative
There is an increasing international consensus on preserva- treatment more generally (Pitts and Zero 2016).
tive caries management. This comes from a better understanding Not only in Europe and the United States but globally, there
of the disease and the caries process, a holistic view of caries risk is increasing evidence indicating a parallel desire between the
management, an improved focus on early detection of lesions, dental profession and patients for preventive care. The profes-
more unified caries classification systems that include the detec- sion also seeks more emphasis on preservative philosophy in
tion of lesions in enamel, the continuing promotion of “preven- dental education. In dental education, a modern core cariology
tion” (primary and secondary), and a higher awareness of the curriculum was developed in 2011 through consensus across
limitations of restorations with the need to continue to replace Europe by the Association for Dental Education in Europe and
them (Pitts and Zero 2016). The ICCMS—International Caries the European Organisation for Caries Research (Pitts et al.
Classification and Management System (Pitts et al. 2014)—and 2011; Schulte et al. 2011). Since then this core curriculum,
its “4D” approach provides a framework that integrates deter- with some local modifications, has been implemented widely:
mining patient-level risk assessment, detecting and assessing in Europe, across Colombia (Martignon et al. 2014), and most
caries staging and activity, deciding a personalized care plan, recently, across the United States (Fontana et al. 2016), as well
and doing appropriate tooth-preserving and patient-level caries as in further countries. International collaboration in imple-
prevention and control (Pitts et al. 2017). In such systems, pro- menting modern education in the future is exemplified by the
viding nonoperative care for initial- and moderate-stage clinical King’s College London / Association for Dental Education in
50 Advances in Dental Research 29(1)
Figure 2. The essential steps in using EAER (electrically accelerated and
Figure 1. Slow progress in adopting remineralization clinically. enhanced remineralization) to restore caries lesions to the equivalent
of healthy enamel: 1) precondition the lesion and its interior surfaces;
2) activate the interior surfaces of the lesion to receive remineralizing
Eu / American Dental Education Association meetings held on agents; 3) remineralize by driving minerals deep into the subsurface
May 7 to 9, 2017 (Association for Dental Education in Europe caries lesion via iontophoresis; and then 4) maturation whereby the
repaired lesion achieves optimal hardness following treatment.
et al. 2017).
With a focus on initial and moderate caries lesions, technologies are not familiar to dentists or dental
Reminova has targeted an idealized treatment objective, researchers.
defined as one that:
This brainstorming and exploratory work led us to some surpris-
•• Preserves all healthy tissue ing and counterintuitive conclusions (to the established teach-
•• Repairs the full depth of the caries lesion ings of dentistry) that were protected by way of patent
•• Involves no pain and uses no drills or injections applications and that we termed EAER for “electrically acceler-
•• Retains (or restores) the mechanical strength of the ated and enhanced remineralization.” Three Scottish universities
enamel structure (Dundee, St. Andrews, and Abertay) collaborated on this, bring-
•• Has similar or better acid resistance than natural enamel ing together dentistry, chemistry, and soil science expertise, the
•• Is a fast and efficient treatment for patients and dentists last surprisingly relevant to dental analysis. We tested several
•• Evidences the successful treatment for reimbursement approaches before focusing on implementing EAER by adapting
purposes the use of iontophoresis, a widely used and accepted method for
•• Has a positive aesthetic and health appeal to patients transdermal and ocular drug delivery (Sarraf and Lee 1994;
Prausnitz et al. 2004), to the caries remineralization challenge.
With this in mind, the founders of Reminova set out to invent Since the 1960s, particularly in Eastern Europe, iontophore-
such a solution, a method to repair lesions without drilling, fill- sis has been applied to treat dentine hypersensitivity (Gangarosa
ing, pain, or injections. and Park 1978) and to attempt to drive greater quantities of
fluoride onto the surface of enamel for caries prevention.
Initial Technology and Company Simone et al. (1995) reported such a study but with no apparent
benefit. Following the publication of our original patent appli-
Development for EAER
cation in many regions of the world, more recent work utilizing
At the outset of the technical brainstorming aimed at identify- iontophoresis and fluoride has produced additional promising
ing a tentative solution, the founders—with full recognition of results, including an acceleration effect in relation to the rem-
the role played by Reminova cofounder Chris Longbottom— ineralization of artificial lesions (Ivanoff et al. 2013) and an
considered the following: enhancement effect (Ivanoff et al. 2011). In EAER, we focus
on conditioning of the untreated lesion as an essential step:
Natural caries remineralization—to learn from the natural cleaning extraneous material and lipids (Shellis et al. 2002)
demin-remin mechanism: could we re-create it or bor- from the bulk of the subsurface lesion.
row from it? Figure 2 shows the essential steps in using EAER to restore
Reviews of the literature—we sought to understand what caries lesions to the equivalent of healthy enamel. EAER works
did not work and why, to learn from history rather than by using iontophoresis to apply a small electrical field from a
ignore it. custom-made dental device to drive mineral molecules from a
A multidisciplinary approach—to bring learnings from reservoir into the deepest parts of caries lesions, which have
other sciences and industries. Typically, some of the been cleaned and conditioned. This creates an environment with
Pitts and Wright 51
potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or Oral Health Foundation. 2017. Visiting the dentist. Rugby (UK): Oral Health
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Petersen PE. 2008. World Health Organization global policy for improvement
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