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Tooth Regeneration Coming Soon
Ponca City, We love you writes "For thousands of years, losing teeth has been a routine part of human aging. Now the Washington Post reports that researchers are close to growing important parts of teeth from stem cells, including creating a living root from scratch, perhaps within one year. According to Pamela Robey of the NIH. 'Dentists say, "Give me a root and I can put a crown on it."' In a few years dentists will treat periodontal disease with regeneration by using stem cells to create hard and soft tissue; they will take out a tooth that is about to fall, and reconnect it firmly to the regenerated tissue. Although nobody is predicting when it will be possible to grow teeth on demand, in adults, to replace missing ones, a common guess is five to ten years. Baby and wisdom teeth are sources of stem cells that could be 'banked' for future health needs, says Robey. 'When you think about it, the teeth children put under their pillows may end up being worth much more than the tooth fairy's going rate. Plus, if you still have your wisdom teeth, it's nice to know you're walking around with your own source of stem cells.'"
This research bites!
My parents were good to me, they adjusted the 25-cents a tooth they got for inflation... wonder what I'll have to pay my kids?
Plus, if you still have your wisdom teeth
I don't have them ... my dentist finally convinced me to have them removed a couple years ago.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
A couple of years after having a tooth extracted, a new one came in, and his dentist was going over his older x-rays to make sure that the tooth coming in hadn't been there all along. Apparently it's a very rare thing, but not completely unheard of, and we all grow teeth at least once in our lives.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Now the replacement after the painful procedure will ALSO be able to rot and hurt like the original. Fuck yeah !
(only half joking. I was really happy after a root channel treatment, as that damn think was finally dead and not able to hurt anymore. In constrast to the year before.)
HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
Maybe one day.
Patent Applied For. :P
Is this thing on? Check. Check.
Edentulous. I always used edentate. Waddyaknow.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
One thing that's often ignored is that some people have naturally "harder" teeth than others. I, unfortunately, am "blessed" with the softer variety. I put out the effort: brush vigorously, regularly, flossing daily, etc. and my teeth are just horrible, and probably a third are basically just plastic. I am one of my Dentist's best customers.
My wife, on the other hand, simply doesn't have to spend nearly as much effort on her teeth. She brushes and all, but she has gorgeous teeth and puts in only modest effort. I see the same in our children. Some have her teeth, put out little effort and consistently have nice, white teeth and no cavities, while others have mine, and brush regularly only to have cavities every single visit.
Finally, I can grow new teeth!?!? Oh wait, they'll be *MY* teeth? With *MY* crappy-ass tooth genes?
(to my wife) Eh, babe? (Ahem) Mind if I have one of your wisdom teeth?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Lets say I loose a tooth in a Wii accident, will the new one be identical?
the irony is that the people who would benefit more from such advancement (the toothless poor who cant bite a beefjerk at the age of 21) will not be able to afford such treatment.
'Dentists say, "Give me a root and I can put a crown on it."'
This is the same thing that a king says when looking for a potential queen.
Homonyms are fun!
You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
I inherited disease-prone teeth from my dad, but my wife has awesome teeth and hardly ever flosses. I'm 34, I brush and floss three times a day with the precision only a nerd can provide...still, I'm just barely holding my 'gum pockets' at 3mm.
I hope our kids get her teeth genes!
Blar.
When are journalists going to learn that it takes 10 years to get from the lab to market? And when it comes to anything medical, add another 10 years for clinical trials.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I never grew wisdom teeth. Any. Although it does say baby teeth can be used as well...and I have four of those intact still since I never grew permanents for those. But do those have to be pulled?? Nooo thanks.
...I'm glad that I've still got all four of my wisdom teeth! Sounds like they will be good insurance towards healthy teeth in my later years. Actually, I wonder if this biotechnology will spell the end to the "convenience" removal of wisdom teeth.
My teeth are crap.
I'm combining a weak enamel with deep crevices, a tendency to eat wrong and brush too rarely or too superficially, and apparently I gnash my teeth while asleep.
This degree of regeneration would be worth a great lot to me...
I got a dime. Kids.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
the tooth fairy cuold really clean up with a nice profit margin.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Stem cells need not be gotten from aborted babies but from adult cells like wisdom teeth, brilliant!
FYI, the only fetal stem cells that have ever been considered for R&D or treatment purposes have been those of embryos created for in-vitro fertilization purposes that would have otherwise been destroyed anyway because the host mother got pregnant with one of the other embryos.
It seems to me that most of those opposed to fetal stem cell research would be thrown for a loop if they realized that the very same potential babies are being sacrificed in order to create one baby for a barren couple. Why is it 'OK' to aborted those babies just because they were second in line for implantation?
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
"Plus, if you still have your wisdom teeth, it's nice to know you're walking around with your own source of stem cells."
I knew I was keeping those for a reason
Screw growing back teeth, I want to know when we can have the genetically modified Streptococcus Mutans. Like 5 years ago, researchers announced they'd developed a strain of s.mutans (the bacteria responsible for most tooth decay) that doesn't excrete lactic acid. Once subjects' mouths were inoculated, the modified s.mutans completely took over, pushing the damaging strain out. Once inoculated you're theoretically 99% cavity free for the rest of your life. Is the ADA lobbying to keep it off the market because fillings and such are such a big money maker? Wouldn't surprise me.
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
Tooth Regeneration Coming Thoon
Back in my day when we lost our teeth we had to pay the tooth fairy $100 for each tooth we lost. She said the $100 was for "protection" - from tooth decay we assumed...of course we learned the awful truth when little Johnny refused to pay, and that crazy bitch knocked out the rest of his teeth with a baseball bat.
A dime?! That we could have been so lucky!
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
I've got news for you. Most of us do know and are trying to save as many lives as possible. No one I've met - who believes that life should be protected after conception - believes that it's "OK" to destroy the unused IVF fetuses. Of course, I seriously doubt this information will have any effect upon your fantastically ingrained bias against "us people". You can make up whatever other "reasons" suit you...
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
An embryo is not a fetus. But you can make up whatever "definitions" suit you...
One thing that has always puzzled me is that despite all the advances in technology, getting a crown is still VERY expensive. There has been no appreciable reduction in cost due to better manufacturing techniques, or better/cheaper materials. Compare this to say, lasik - when it was first introduced it cost about 4K per eye I think. Now it's a few hundred.
Maybe I got lucky or something, but my root canal (in a back molar with about 4 canals) didn't hurt at all. It hurt before because of the infection, but a bunch of ibuprofen plus local anaesthetic seemed to do the trick during, and it didn't really hurt at all afterwards (just somewhat sore, but not enough for me to need any painkillers).
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
When did Jesus ever say that using aborted fetuses is bad in the first place?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I always read that with a Yorkshire accent.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
...I'm going to track down that Army dentist who pulled my wisdom teeth for no good reason and punch him right in the mouth.
I don't have any wisdom teeth, you insensitive clod!
"War makes me sad." - Me
... but think of the children. I need to chew! Teeth FTW in 2016!
I had 4 wisdom teeth taken out when I was 17.
Luckily for me, two more grew in almost 10 years later...
You see, each collection of cells in these embryos is just that. A bunch of cells - albeit stem cells. They are not alive and are not a person. They have no feelings.
"Tooth Regeneration Coming Soon - Millions of Rednecks Rejoice!"
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
I do apologize. You see, for me the differences between those terms are as important to me (while discussing the value of the individual life) as infant and toddler, or child and preteen, or adolescent and young adult.
When I'm trying to convince someone that saving a life is important, I forget about how much some people care about keeping perfect distinctions between adjacent stages of human development. I will try to avoid this from now.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Was this posted by a python script that generates paranoid fantasies?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
The question is, can I regrow custom-designed teeth? What if I don't like my teeth in the first place? I don't want to regrow the same set of teeth again.
I was born with a severe lack of calcium. By the age of 3, I still didn't have any tooth. Not that it didn't grow, but the teeth were just like powder. When I ate, the teeth that just appeared in the morning were smashed by any food and swallowed along.
After taking a lot of calcium supplement (still do on a daily basis), eventually, they grew. the shape are fine, but they are grey. They are weak, cavities and rotten root canal are nasty problems. And that causes all kinds of gum problems, even with daily Listerine or salty water mouth wash.
Since high school, I always have to work extra to make that extra 5000 to 6000 more than others, every year, to take care of the teeth. Not to mention that it had been an obstacle to self-confidence for so many years.
Now, if can regrow my teeth, I certainly don't want to regrow the same set. Can I custom-design mine?
The National Hockey League and the state of West Virginia.
I still have all four of my wisdom teeth too. Fortunately they came in straight and strong and I have had zero problems with them. When they were coming in, my dentist said if they come in alright that it will be good to leave them alone because if I ever have any problems later in life with my the rest of my molars that result in their complete loss, then those 3rd molars might come in handy as anchors for bridges. I'm almost 40 yrs old now and I've already had to have some 1st and 2nd molar filings and a crown put on one of my bicuspids after I broke it in an accident, so now I'm very glad I never had my wisdom teeth removed.
Specialization is a mystery that hasn't been cracked yet.. so stem cells are "magic".. in that they do impressive feats that we don't understand.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I suffered from chronic gum disease and cavity prone teeth almost all of my first fifty years, spent thousands for just about every dental procedure you can imagine and was told over and over, "We can save your teeth".
I finally got tired of the constant pain and infection and had all but a couple of teeth removed. I have a full upper denture and a couple of teeth on the lower jaw to hold a partial in place. Best dental work I ever had done.
There is more to growing a tooth than stem cells. You can't just plant teeth like seeds in dirt. It has to attach to the right blood supply and the right nerve. Teeth do not sit in bone; so you can implant them like titanium screws. They need a periodontal ligament which supports the tooth in the bone and allows it to flex. The ligament has to attach to the bone as well as the tooth. That is one reason they cannot transplant teeth or even move your own wisdom teeth to the first or second molar position in your mouth.
It will happen, but it will take a lot longer than any researcher is willing to concede.
Wouldn't /not/ aborting them be hindering their trip to heaven?
Anyone can "stand up for what they believe", but it takes a very brave individual to change what they believe. - Loundry
Used to be the ghouls would cruise around, mug some guy and take his kidney ... or more. Now, they
will just do a tooth extraction for stem cells!
Also in fat cells & cord blood.
Exactly. He was in fact explicitly supporting embryonic stem-cell research, it's just been translated badly. "Little children" should have been "embryos", and everyone knows that the "kingdom of heaven" was actually Jesus's stem-cell research lab.
this is the best thing I've heard in quite a while.
Dude! How many times have you read it?
If medicine were ever perfected, we'd all be the same.
...a man known as Willie "One-Tooth" Johnson just shed a single tear of joy.
For those of us with "soft" teeth (and you know who you are), this is a REALLY *bad* development! I don't want to re-grow my teeth. In fact, I want to get rid of the originals! I would REALLY like to see advances in implant technology, and a reduction in price. I'd like to have all my teeth replaced. I've already had seven root canals, at least two crowns (with six more on the way) - why can't I just get them all replaced?
(As an aside, most dentists seem to want to "save" teeth. I can't see any reason for this. Furthermore, implants are expensive - to have my 28 teeth replaced at $4k/tooth would cost $112,000. If I had the money I would do it.)
libertarianswag.com
When I see people with extreme body modifications like subdermal beads and spikes that protrude from the scalp, I wonder what their children of those people could possibly do to frustrate them.
This article gives me the answer: in 30 years teenagers will grow teeth all over their body.
As someone who has smaller children in his extended family, I am wondering if there are any house-hold-compatible ways to save cells on teeth. Or should I just forget the whole thing?
Well, apparently my buddy had all four wisdom teeth removed... twice. His also came back once.
Too bad for me though, I've had all four of mine pulled because they were coming out crooked, and thus far no regrowth so I'm probably SOL stem-cell wise.
A sperm and an egg combined in a non-hospitable environment isn't a stage of growth by anyone's definition. It's like saying an acorn planted in nice forest loam is the same thing as an acorn planted on the moon.
If you want to make an argument about the sanctity of a fertilized egg inside a woman's body, that is an argument that has the possibility of support, but making an argument about a fertilized egg in the freezer is ridiculous.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
I'll be sure to tell all parents of the preemies in ICU how ridiculous it is for them to consider their child's life as "sacred", due to the circumstances of the child's environment in combination with the viability (or lack thereof) of that child outside its current environment.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Seems to me that Robert A. Heinlein predicted this long ago in "The Door into Summer".
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Have you ever noticed that the state of restorative dentistry is progressing rapidly every day, but the state of the art in preventive dentistry is still brush and floss?
I'm no tin-foil hat guy, but this is one area I genuinely believe is being overlooked solely for the monetary benefit.
"The government grants you rights, not the other way around."-- beav007. Yes, these people really exist...
I thought I heard about researchers growing human teeth, cloned teeth, on the back of lab rats when I was in college a decade ago.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
This reminds me of South Park episode "Tooth Fairy"
Good luck getting your HMO to pay for that.