The fight against tooth decay gets help with a new smart material

When patients go to the dentist to fill a cavity, they’re trying to solve a problem — not create a new one. But many dental patients get some bad news: bacteria can dig under their tooth-colored fillings and cause new cavities, called recurrent caries. U of T researchers designed a novel solution: a filling material with tiny particles containing antimicrobial drugs, designed to stop bacteria in its tracks.