A large U.S. clinical trial has found that a simple, inexpensive liquid can halt tooth decay in young children without the need for drilling, injections or sedation, offering researchers the kind of rigorous domestic evidence that has been missing for a treatment already used successfully around the world for decades.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Michigan and published in JAMA Pediatrics, examined a treatment called silver diamine fluoride, commonly abbreviated as SDF. Dentists apply the liquid directly to a cavity using a small sponge-tipped applicator, a process that takes only a few seconds per tooth and requires no removal of decayed tooth material, unlike traditional cavity treatment, which typically involves drilling out damaged tissue before placing a filling.

The Phase III trial enrolled 830 children younger than age 6, recruited through dental offices, pediatric medical practices, and Head Start and Early Head Start programs across Michigan, New York and Iowa. Researchers found that applying 38% SDF every six months stopped tooth decay in more than half of the affected baby teeth included in the study.

Margherita Fontana, a professor of dentistry at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and the study’s lead investigator, described the strength of the results. “This is a very effective and safe treatment — even in children as young as 1,” Fontana said.

Tooth decay remains the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, affecting more than 40% of children nationwide, according to the study. Left untreated, cavities can lead to significant pain, infection, difficulty sleeping or eating, missed school days and repeated medical appointments. Untreated cavities also send thousands of young children to hospital emergency departments across the country each year, though emergency physicians are typically unable to address the underlying dental problem, leaving some children to continue suffering from pain and infection or eventually requiring surgery under general anesthesia to fully resolve the issue.

Although SDF has been used successfully in many other countries for decades, its use in the United States has remained more limited. American dentists have applied it off-label since 2014, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved the substance as a medical device intended to reduce tooth sensitivity, rather than as an approved treatment for cavities specifically. Until now, researchers had not completed the kind of large-scale U.S. clinical trials needed to formally demonstrate the treatment’s safety and effectiveness against tooth decay, evidence the FDA would require before considering approval of SDF as a drug specifically indicated for treating cavities.

Fontana said the newly published trial results fill that evidentiary gap. “If we want more children and families to benefit from this treatment, we need rigorous evidence showing both that it works and that it’s safe,” Fontana said. “From a public health perspective, if we want broader implementation across the United States, including in medical settings, we need carefully collected data in U.S. populations, and we now have that.”

The treatment does carry one notable visible drawback: the silver in the solution permanently darkens the decayed portion of the treated tooth. Despite that cosmetic tradeoff, researchers said SDF could prove especially valuable for certain groups of patients, including very young children, older adults, people with developmental or physical disabilities, and patients who experience severe dental anxiety. The treatment may also benefit people with limited access to conventional dental care or those who cannot easily tolerate standard drilling-based procedures.

Fontana noted that the treatment’s simplicity could allow it to be used earlier in a child’s life than a typical dental visit might otherwise occur. “It is important to have data they can refer to because young children often see pediatricians years before they ever visit a dentist,” Fontana said. “Broader acceptance could allow many more cavities to be treated while a referral to a dental home is successful, and before they become painful, infected, or require surgery.” Fontana added that in medicine, clinicians generally require high-quality evidence of this kind before they are willing to change established clinical practice.

The research, which began in 2018 and continued despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, was conducted in collaboration with researchers from New York University, the University of Iowa and Indiana University, along with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, which provided more than $12 million in funding to support the study. Elevate Oral Care, the manufacturer of the specific SDF product tested in the trial, known commercially as Advantage Arrest 38% SDF, supplied the treatment used throughout the study.

Amr Moursi, a professor of pediatric dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry and a co-principal investigator on the study, said the trial’s findings could support formal regulatory approval of the treatment going forward. “Our results support FDA approval of SDF for managing arrest of tooth decay in young children,” Moursi said. “Removing SDF from off-label status would be an important innovation which could lead to increased utilization by providers, enhanced payments by insurers and more consistent product quality.”

Researchers noted that SDF may function differently depending on the age of the patient and the specific clinical situation. For young children with baby teeth, repeated application of the treatment every few months may be sufficient to control a cavity until the affected tooth eventually falls out naturally as part of normal childhood dental development. In adults, the treatment could instead serve as either a long-term management option or a temporary measure to control decay until a more permanent restorative procedure becomes financially or logistically feasible for the patient.

Fontana summarized the treatment’s broader potential impact on public dental health. “For almost anyone, this can arrest the decay and stop the infection and the pain it causes,” Fontana said. “This could benefit many people.”

The trial’s results now provide the manufacturer with the clinical evidence needed to formally submit a dental caries drug application to the FDA, a step researchers said could ultimately expand access to the treatment well beyond its current off-label use across American dental and medical practices.

London’s benchmark stock index climbed to another all-time high on Thursday, extending a remarkable rally that has left the FTSE 100 among the world’s best-performing major indexes even as chip-heavy markets in the U.S. and Asia continue to churn through volatility tied to artificial intelligence spending concerns.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.44%, adding 48.24 points to trade at 10,956.65 as of early afternoon in London, according to index data. The index touched an intraday high of 10,979.60 during the session, another fresh record, while its low for the day stood at 10,865.37. Thursday’s close compares with Wednesday’s finish of 10,908.41, itself a record at the time, meaning the index has now set new all-time highs in consecutive trading sessions.

Strong corporate earnings drove much of Thursday’s advance, with Rolls-Royce among the standout performers after the aerospace and defense engineering giant lifted its full-year guidance. The company raised its forecast for underlying operating profit to a range of £4.7 billion to £4.9 billion, alongside expected free cash flow of £3.8 billion to £4.0 billion, an upgrade that analysts characterized as reflecting genuine operational improvement rather than simply a broader defensive-sector bounce. The upgrade helped lift the FTSE’s aerospace and defense sector by 3.6% during the session.

BAE Systems also contributed significantly to Thursday’s gains, raising its own full-year profit guidance after reporting stronger first-half results driven by higher defense spending. The company posted a 9% increase in sales to £15.8 billion for the six months through June, with growth recorded across all of its business divisions. Underlying operating profit rose 11% to £1.7 billion, while underlying earnings per share climbed 13% to 38.9 pence. Order intake for the period increased to £16.4 billion from £13.2 billion a year earlier, leaving BAE Systems with a record order backlog of £84 billion.

Thursday’s gains build on a broader rally that has taken hold across the FTSE 100 over the past several trading sessions, driven substantially by strength in the index’s heavyweight energy, banking and mining sectors. Wednesday’s session saw the index touch what was then an all-time intraday high of 10,951.06 points, propelled by a surge in oil and gas stocks after renewed fighting in the Middle East pushed Brent crude prices up nearly 7% in a single session, settling at $90.74 a barrel. Energy stocks jumped 2.9% during Wednesday’s trading as investors weighed the implications of dashed hopes for an imminent resolution to the ongoing conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.

Analysts have pointed to the FTSE 100’s relatively limited direct exposure to major semiconductor manufacturers and megacap technology companies as a key factor insulating the index from the sharp volatility hitting chip-heavy markets elsewhere in the world this week. That contrast has been especially stark against South Korea’s KOSPI index, which has fallen roughly 20% over the past five trading sessions amid a punishing selloff in memory chip stocks, and against the Nasdaq Composite in the United States, which has declined roughly 10% over the past month as investors reassess the sustainability of artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. XTB market analyst Kathleen Brooks noted that the backdrop heading into Thursday’s session was “one of rising volatility,” particularly for technology-heavy indexes in the U.S. and Asia, a dynamic the FTSE 100 has so far largely avoided given its heavier weighting toward energy, banking and mining stocks rather than technology.

Thursday’s trading session also coincided with the Bank of England’s latest interest rate decision, announced at midday London time. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee vote showed a degree of internal division, with policymaker Catherine Mann joining a more hawkish faction within the committee. Peel Hunt economist Kallum Pickering said Mann’s position likely “only matters at the margin,” suggesting it could reflect a more reactive response to recent escalation in the Middle East rather than a fundamental shift in the committee’s broader policy stance. Minutes from the meeting noted that while the committee judged “the risks to the inflation outlook are tilted to the upside relative to the central projection,” policymakers also stressed there “remains scope for the outlook to change materially as events in the Middle East unfold.”

Other notable corporate movers on Thursday included Mondi, the packaging and paper group, which surged on improved trading momentum and lower capital expenditure despite weaker first-half earnings, a pattern some analysts characterized as signaling the company may be emerging from a margin trough. Rentokil Initial moved in the opposite direction, falling after the pest control company reported weakening lead flow in its North American residential business toward the end of the second quarter and withdrew a previously stated 2027 margin target, a move analysts said signaled potential softening in the company’s growth trajectory.

Dividend-focused investors have also taken note of the strength across the FTSE 100 this earnings season. Investment platform AJ Bell has forecast total FTSE 100 dividends of £88.8 billion for the year, alongside declared 2026 share buybacks estimated at £36 billion, according to the firm’s most recent dividend tracking data. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said Wednesday’s wave of corporate earnings announcements had helped push the running buyback total toward £40 billion, though both figures remain estimates and running tallies rather than confirmed final outcomes for the year.

With the Bank of England’s decision now delivered and corporate earnings season continuing to unfold across London’s blue-chip companies, investors are likely to remain focused on whether the FTSE 100’s current run of records can be sustained against a backdrop of continued geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and ongoing volatility across global technology and semiconductor markets in the sessions ahead.

Meghan Markle recently opened up about a piece of advice her husband, Prince Harry, shared with her years ago that she says continues to help her navigate difficult moments in life.

The Duchess of Sussex made the comments during a premiere and question-and-answer event for her and Harry’s documentary film “Cookie Queens,” according to a report from People magazine. During the event, an audience member asked Markle how she copes with the tough moments life inevitably brings.

In her response, Markle described drawing on something Harry had told her long before, rooted in his years of military service. “Funny enough, I was thinking about something my husband told me ages ago, because we all go through experiences and life is full of surprises, but you know, he was a helicopter pilot in the British Army for 10 years,” Markle said. “And sometimes on really hard days … he said, ‘Hey, but my love, you know, even if there’s a storm happening, above the storm, the sun’s always shining.’”

Harry served as an Apache helicopter pilot during a decade-long military career with the British Army, including two deployments to Afghanistan. That military background has continued to inform how he approaches challenges even years after leaving active service, according to Markle’s account of the advice he shared with her.

Markle and Harry married in 2018 in a ceremony held at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom, and the couple shares two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. In January 2020, the couple announced they were stepping back from official royal duties, relocating to California, where they have built out a range of business and media ventures in the years since.

Harry has more recently made efforts to repair his relationship with his family in the United Kingdom following the couple’s departure from royal life. Markle and Harry traveled to Britain with their children for events tied to the Invictus Games, the international sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick servicemembers and veterans that Harry founded in 2014. During the same trip, the couple held a private meeting with King Charles III and Queen Camilla, marking the first time the king and queen had seen their grandchildren in four years.

Markle has also continued to build her public media presence in recent months, including a recent appearance as a guest judge on “MasterChef Australia,” where she set contestants a challenge to prepare dishes she described as “fit for a Duchess.” During the taping, Harry called into the show despite his own schedule, and the couple discussed the competition together on air, with Markle noting that Harry would have enjoyed several of the dishes the contestants prepared, a moment that drew smiles from those present.

The “Cookie Queens” documentary, which was the subject of the event where Markle shared Harry’s advice, adds to a growing slate of media projects the couple has developed since relocating to the United States, building on ventures that have included Markle’s Netflix lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan” and her lifestyle brand, As Ever, which she relaunched earlier this year.

Markle’s willingness to share personal reflections on coping with hardship comes as the couple has continued to navigate significant public scrutiny in the years since stepping back from royal duties, including ongoing questions about Harry’s UK security arrangements and periodic tension in his relationship with other members of the royal family. Even amid those continued pressures, both Markle and Harry have described their relationship as a source of mutual support, with Markle’s recent comments underscoring the emotional grounding she says Harry’s perspective, shaped by his own military experience, has continued to offer her during difficult periods.

The couple’s recent UK visit and reported meeting with King Charles and Camilla have been widely covered as part of a broader narrative of gradually thawing relations between Harry and the royal family following years of public tension that followed the couple’s 2020 departure from official duties and the subsequent publication of Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” in 2023, which included pointed criticism of several family members.

As Markle continues to balance her expanding media and business ventures with her family life in California, her recent comments about leaning on Harry’s advice during hard times offer a rare glimpse into how the couple has navigated the personal challenges that have accompanied their high-profile and, at times, turbulent transition away from formal royal life over the past several years.