Chinese scientists just made a major breakthrough that could render dental fillings a thing of the past.

Enamel is a mineralized substance that protects the surface of teeth, and it degrades over time because of consistent exposure to certain acids that are found in food and drinks. Dentists currently fill in deteriorated enamel with resins and ceramics, but these fillings often become loose after a few years. Scientists have been struggling for years to find a way to regrow enamel, and now, they may finally have done it.

A team of scientists at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine just managed to develop a gel that makes enamel repair itself. The scientists mixed calcium and phosphate ions, both of which are found in enamel, to make an alcoholic solution with the organic compound trimethylamine that they then applied to damaged tooth samples. In just 48 hours, the gel helped to create a new layer of enamel about 3 micrometers thick.

The researchers are now planning to test their technique in the complex biological environment of the human mouth, and they are hoping to launch clinical trials sometime in the next one to two years.

“Our newly regenerated enamel has the same structure and similar mechanical properties as native enamel,” said Dr. Zhaoming Liu, a co-author of the study. “We hope to realize tooth enamel regrowth without using fillings which contain totally different materials and we hope, if all goes smoothly, to start trials in people within one to two years.”

Not only could it be possible to use the gel for the repair of decayed parts of a tooth, but it could also serve as a preventative technique used to regenerate the protective enamel to ensure that decay is never again a problem.