Scientists Grow Bioteeth From Stem Cells

[Gahars]

Teeth are wonderful, aren't they? They're like stalagmites/stalactites for your mouth; they let you chew your food, a vital part of the digestion process, and give you a winning smile (assuming you're not British, of course). Losing them can just be terrible - just ask any senior citizen, child, or meth addict on your street. Indeed, you could almost say it bites.

Everything's cool, though, because science is on the case, and researchers are telling dentures to get bent-ures.

Replacing missing teeth with new bioengineered teeth, grown from stem cells generated from a person's own gum cells, is a future method that could be superior to the currently used implant technology.

New research, published in the Journal of Dental Research and led by Professor Paul Sharpe, an expert in craniofacial development and stem cell biology at King's College London's Dental Institute, describes an important preliminary step towards the development of this method by sourcing the required cells from a patient's own gum.

Research towards producing bioengineered teeth, also called bioteeth, aims to grow new and natural teeth by employing stem cell technology which generates immature teeth (teeth primordia) that mimic those in the embryo. These can be transplanted as small cell pellets into the adult jaw to develop into functional teeth, given the right circumstances, programming and assembly -- all of that difficult to master and not even tested yet -- the researchers say.

Science World Report

You want the tooth? You can't handle the tooth... without proper treatment, of course.

It seems like we see greater and greater potential in stem cell technology everyday. These replacement teeth could develop like the real thing, and while it'll take some time to actually get them in the mouth, I have high hopes we'll get there. It's a long ways off, sure, but the great thing about waiting for the future is, well, it's all a matter of time.

inb4 The Chews did this.

 

[the_randomizer]

Teeth are wonderful, aren't they? They're like stalagmites/stalactites for your mouth; they let you chew your food, a vital part of the digestion process, and give you a winning smile (assuming you're not British, of course). Losing them can just be terrible - just ask any senior citizen, child, or meth addict on your street. Indeed, you could almost say it bites.

Everything's cool, though, because science is on the case, and researchers are telling dentures to get bent-ures.

Science World Report

You want the tooth? You can't handle the tooth... without proper treatment, of course.

It seems like we see greater and greater potential in stem cell technology everyday. These replacement teeth could develop like the real thing, and while it'll take some time to actually get them in the mouth, I have high hopes we'll get there. It's a long ways off, sure, but the great thing about waiting for the future is, well, it's all a matter of time.

inb4 The Chews did this.

Your puns are quite a mouthful.

 

[Deleted_171835]

I'm gritting my teeth at all this nonsense. I'm beginning to think that these articles being posted here in USN stem from Gahars desire to make such toothless puns.

 

[LINK289]

I haven't seen so many puns in one User Submitted News post in a while. It puts a smile on my face..

 

[FAST6191]

Not that I have any objection in the slightest to fetal stem cells but it is not all the time that I hear about multipotent stem cells or ones lower down on the list being useful for something.

Of course if you can make a tooth into an eye......

 

[Janthran]

>Implying that meth addicts can afford teeth anyway

 

[Maxternal]

Of course if you can make a tooth into an eye.....

And then sow that eye back onto the end of the optical nerve ...

 

[chartube12]

I think I would rather have today's current implants. Cause who wants to experience the pains of cavities all over again?

 

[Nathan Drake]

I would love for this to happen. Back in September, I ended up breaking a few teeth (bunk beds can be a bitch), and although I'm not missing any (only lost one and it was put back in), my insurance wasn't able to cover necessary treatments. As such, what's left of them is where they should be, and the broken parts were sealed, but they'll never be whole teeth again. As well, since I couldn't get the root canals needed, odds are that I'll lose these bastards in the next 10 years or so. Technology like this is pretty much exactly what I need to happen. I'll take real teeth over implants absolutely any day.

 

[BORTZ]

The ads on this site are getting smarter... The one above the post box is talking about teeth stem cell research for childern...

Anyways, I mean it was only a matter of time. With today's technology we can grow just about anything on a mouse lol.

 

[shakirmoledina]

hmm this v 3d printed teeth.

wasn't there an article about teeth being made from mouse eggs or something too?

 

[Taleweaver]

Say...wasn't stem cell research illegal in the US for some uppity religion group reason?

If so, those guys will look rather sheepish right now*.




*I really wish I could've used the Dutch saying "met de mond vol tanden staan" ("standing with a mouthful of teeth"). While it actually means "feeling rather awkward/embarrassed about it", I don't think the pun carries over to English.

Of course if you can make a tooth into an eye......

Well, I'll be...

I really thought you were going to make a link to this guy.

 

[FAST6191]

Say...wasn't stem cell research illegal in the US for some uppity religion group reason?

If so, those guys will look rather sheepish right now*.

*I really wish I could've used the Dutch saying "met de mond vol tanden staan" ("standing with a mouthful of teeth"). While it actually means "feeling rather awkward/embarrassed about it", I don't think the pun carries over to English.

There is a phrase "shit eating grin" but it is not that applicable/equivalent. Instead I shall choose to believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, the Dutch/Dutch speaking Belgians to be an ultraviolent lot and consider it to mean "someone hasn't yet knocked your teeth out for you".

I am sure there are some that would object to all of it for various "don't mess with life" (indeed a few of the more interesting US laws are about this), "fruit of a poison tree" or "I don't understand it but I will hate it anyway" reasons but generally speaking:
Stem cells come in a variety of forms and can make other cells (why they are so useful) however as you age (basically by the time you are born) the stem cells become more specialised and can only make similar (or the same) cells to the class they are for. Presently the best sources of pluripotent (sometimes the term non differentiated stem cells is used) cells which can be made into anything are those from foetuses though it also comes with a massive asterisk in that many will not have been viable, been seen in a foetus in years (once you have them you can grow them into a stem cell line and share it with all your friends), been leftovers from IVF (I believe it is the same in Dutch but the dictionary says In-vitrofertilisatie) or other such things. Going backwards from differentiated cells is really hard (as in the first person/group to do it repeatably, assuming they were this side of making Mr Mengele say "damn son", is likely to get an instant Nobel Prize) but is a massive area of research.
As the "unborn rights"/anti abortion lobby seems to be somewhat powerful stateside and the main fight there was lost irrecoverably decades ago they tend to spend their time doing things like objecting to research using fetal cells or derived from them (and given they hire marketing wonks where science often does not they have got some traction). Research is not illegal but as most of the really cool stuff happens with the pluripotent cells and their use was restricted somewhat heavily (to the point where some have argued the restrictions make it nonviable) it had a very chilling effect. The restrictions were lifted back in 2009 though so things are picking back up again.

 

[Taleweaver]

There is a phrase "shit eating grin" but it is not that applicable/equivalent. Instead I shall choose to believe, despite all evidence to the contrary, the Dutch/Dutch speaking Belgians to be an ultraviolent lot and consider it to mean "someone hasn't yet knocked your teeth out for you".

Damn...you're on to us.