New Teeth Possible Through Stem Cell Research
Related News: CosmeticThere may soon be a time when dentists offer to provide people with missing or damaged teeth grow new ones, according to the latest stem cell research presented on yesterday.
Recent presentations at a dental meeting have demonstrate that some techniques using stem cells combined with gene therapy to regenerate teeth are producing promising results .. which suggests that this technique may not be far off.
"I think it's looking like quite an exciting technology for the near future," said Dr. Tony Smith, editor of the Journal of Dental Research, who was not involved in any of the newest studies....
Clearly, techniques that involve adding new tissue to already-existing teeth are "probably a bit closer on the horizon," perhaps within a "handful of years," Smith predicted. Techniques that could grow teeth from scratch will likely take another 10 years to perfect, he added.
Some instances, researchers have been trying to reprogram cells in the mouth to behave like tooth-growing cells. Convincing the cells that they have to produce new teeth, Smith explained.
Other techniques being explored include using stem cells, which have the potential to become any type of cell or tissue. In one study being presented at the meeting, researchers successfully extracted stem cells from the pulp of adult teeth, Smith said. The next step is to examine whether it's possible to use these teeth to regenerate new dental tissue, he said.
Posted on March 10, 2005 10:01 PM