Grow-your-own to replace false teeth

The Guardian ^ | May 3, 2004 | Ian Sample

[ijcr]

The British institution of dentures sitting in a glass of water beside the bed could be rendered obsolete by scientists who are confident that people will soon be able to replace lost teeth by growing new ones. Instead of false teeth, a small ball of cells capable of growing into a new tooth will be implanted where the missing one used to be.

The procedure needs only a local anaesthetic and the new tooth should be fully formed within a few months of the cells being implanted.

Paul Sharpe, a specialist in the field of regenerative dentistry at the Dental Institute of King's College, London, says the new procedure has distinct advantages over false teeth that require a metal post to be driven into the jaw before being capped with a porcelain or plastic tooth.

"The surgery today can be extensive and you need to have good solid bone in the jaw and that is a major problem for some people," Professor Sharpe said.

The method could be used on far more patients because the ball of cells that grows into a tooth also produces bone that anchors to the jaw.

The choice of growing a new tooth is likely to appeal to patients. "Anyone who has lost teeth will tell you that, given the chance, they would rather have their own teeth than false ones," said Prof Sharpe. The average Briton over 50 has lost 12 teeth from a set of 32.

The procedure is fairly simple. Doctors take stem cells from the patient. These are unique in their ability to form any of the tissues that make up the body. By carefully nurturing the stem cells in a laboratory, scientists can nudge the cells down a path that will make them grow into a tooth. After a couple of weeks, the ball of cells, known as a bud, is ready to be implanted. Tests reveal what type of tooth - for example, a molar or an incisor - the bud will form.

Using a local anaesthetic, the tooth bud is inserted through a small incision into the gum. Within months, the cells will have matured into a fully-formed tooth, fused to the jawbone. As the tooth grows, it releases chemicals that encourage nerves and blood vessels to link up with it.

Tests have shown the technique to work in mice, where new teeth took weeks to grow. "There's no reason why it shouldn't work in humans, the principles are the same," said Prof Sharpe.

His team has set up a company, Odontis, to exploit the technique, and has won £400,000 from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts and the Wellcome Trust.

[jocon307]

"When will it be available? We toothless ones don't have that much time to wait."

Amen! I'll be a guinea pig for this experiment.

I call teeth God's failure. Maybe man has found a cure?

[explodingspleen]

The question remains, how much does this cost? Dentures might still be the more viable alternative for people who can count the amount of money they have.

[Bluntpoint]

My dentist was a staunch NRA member. Good heart but...

[TheLion]

Dentists will probably make a bundle on this. First off, it probably won't be in balance with the rest of your mouth. This is assuming, of course, you are older and have had crowns etc.

It will not be cheap!

[null and void]

Of course some deviant with money is going to have all his teeth replaced with canines.

Naaahhhhh! No one would do that!

[RightWhale]

There have been cases where a third set of teeth grew in old age. Teeth should be doing that naturally. Sharks do it, why not humans?

[HairOfTheDog]

This would be a great thing!

[cricket]

"The key is healthy gums and bone."

So while business will be booming. . .there will still be some patients out there wanting 'their plastic'.

And of course, some will not want to wait for those teeth to grow. . .:^#

I am just searching for 'balance' here.

[onyx]

Sharks do it, why not humans?



Including lawyers?
Bad joke.

[azhenfud]

"You might be redneck if you lie through your tooth."

Wasn't the toothbrush and toothpaste invented in England? Else they'd have been called teethbrush and teethpaste...

[kennedy]

The average Briton over 50 has lost 12 teeth from a set of 32.

Pardon my asking, but don't these people know how to brush their teeth?

[Paleo Conservative]

I wonder if it would be possible to grow replacements for capped teeth? I shattered my upper incisors when I was ten, and have had two sets of "permanent" caps installed over the years. I would love to have real teeth that don't have to be replace every couple of decades.

[glock rocks]

I think it'd be cool to have a row of em across the forehead. Worf got nothin on us!!

[MHGinTN]

Badabing badaboom ... good one.

[piasa]

My luck, they would screw it up and I would grow a finger...

Think of how much easier it would be to scoop up peas.

[cricket]

"It will not be cheap!"

But a ticket to 'China' by then, may be. . .but yikes; just thought of those 'volunteers' in China who would be their first patients. . .

This may take a little pressure off kids playing 'contact' sports, however;^#

'tooth plastics'; down!. . .Sports equipment - UP!

[Brad’s Gramma]

HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[F.J. Mitchell]

"With my luck, they would screw up and I would grow a finger."

Or worse yet, a fang er two-hi-s-s-s-s.

[dufekin]

Nope. Actually, the "toothbrush" was invented in China c.1497. The Chinese language makes no distinction between singular and plural; hence, "tooth" translates to the exact same Chinese word as "teeth."

[Moonman62]

Holy cow! That's a lot of missing teeth...

For Britons?