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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?
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.
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.
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'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.
I got a dime. Kids.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
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.
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.
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.
I always read that with a Yorkshire accent.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
Careful now. Punching a dentist class in the mouth is a bad move. An enraged dentist can heal a mouth injury in mere seconds. In response they may trick you with their mirrors, and if they roll a critical during this time you'll be drilled asunder!
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?
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.
...a man known as Willie "One-Tooth" Johnson just shed a single tear of joy.
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?
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...