
Scientists Likely Found Way to Grow New Teeth for Patients - elorant
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/24252/20191111/scientists-likely-found-way-to-grow-new-teeth-for-patients.htm
======
dsukhin
This was a very exciting title but a very dodgy article. It references two
independent areas of active research but concludes one doesn't work in
practice yet and the other (which is buried in this report [0] from Columbia
from 2013) works only in rats with stem cells and growth factors. So surely,
either the title is misleading about this being viable for humans yet, or
there is more progress on the subject beyond what is here and there is a
better and more recent source available. Either way, an exciting topic I've
also been wondering about for a long time.

[0] [https://techventures.columbia.edu/news-and-events/latest-
new...](https://techventures.columbia.edu/news-and-events/latest-
news/recruiting-body-help-regrow-new-joints)

------
naikrovek
Pfft that's nothing.

When I had testicular cancer, they found an entire molar in that tumor.

Apparently I had a type of cancer that just spontaneously grows parts of you
inside it. I am ashamed to say that I forgot the name of this type of cancer.

~~~
RyJones
Teratoma[0]

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratoma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratoma)

~~~
ganzuul
So it's not at all far-fetched to grow new teeth for humans then. Just need to
get it working in the right place.

~~~
lonelappde
It's self-evident that humans can grow teeth, since we almost all have them,
and many women grow extra sets in their uteruses. The devil is in the details
of growing them on demand where desired.

~~~
read_if_gay_
> many women grow extra sets in their uteruses

What.

~~~
onei
It's technically correct, but they tend to come attached to a baby :)

~~~
thaumasiotes
That can't be right; babies are not usually born with teeth.

~~~
MertsA
Adult teeth start forming at 20 weeks in the womb. Babies are born with two
full sets of teeth, they're just not quite finished yet and are buried under
the gums and in the jaw bone. There are images of child skulls with the front
of the bone removed to show all of the teeth packed into the bone underneath.
It's actually pretty unsettling.

------
westurner
"Scientists Have Discovered a Drug That Fixes Cavities and Regrows Teeth"
[https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-have-discovered-
thi...](https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-have-discovered-this-drug-
fixes-cavities-and-regrows-teeth)

Tideglusib
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tideglusib](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tideglusib)

~~~
minxomat
> Tooth repair mechanisms that promotes dentine reinforcement of a sponge
> structure until the sponge biodegrades, leaving a solid dentine structure.
> In 2016, the results of animal studies were reported in which 0.14 mm holes
> in mouse teeth were permanently filled.

Very interesting mechanism.

------
PedroBatista
Every couple years an article like this comes out, yet nothing of substance
actually happens.

Maybe when the hens grow teeth, as the french say we'll be able to do that in
humans too.

~~~
zxcvbn4038
Once I was watching the news, probably back in the 70s - the reporter was
Peter Jennings, and he saying that the Soviets had created an aquatic chicken
with gills instead of lungs. Never any follow up, never any mention of it
again. I’ve always wondered if the people at ABC News were just incredibly
gullible, or if the government swooped in to suppress the story.

~~~
klipt
What's more plausible, the Soviets actually succeeded at such a complex
project, and the US government suppressed it so effectively that after the
collapse of the Soviet Union there was no evidence left whatsoever.

...or the whole thing was just propaganda in the first place (either Soviet to
try claim weird science skills, or US to try claim the Soviets are crazy)?

------
arkades
I already know of at least one company that 3D bioprints custom replacement
teeth for patients rather than use implants.

It’s already got its patents granted and is transitioning from prototypes to
production units, IIRC.

~~~
kbutler
[https://www.dentistryiq.com/products/article/16365674/natura...](https://www.dentistryiq.com/products/article/16365674/natural-
dental-implants-ag-announces-customized-tooth-replacement-system-at-
ids-2017?_ga=2.2574832.1764485665.1577459300-1768223949.1577459300)

So the bioprinting is an alternative means to construct a replicate tooth (as
opposed to CNC milling).

Replicate teeth can be used as a less invasive/quicker healing alternative to
implants under some conditions:

[https://www.replicatetooth.com/for-
patients/](https://www.replicatetooth.com/for-patients/)

"The REPLICATE System can only be used if the root of the original tooth is
still in place. Also your dentist will need to evaluate if the surrounding
bone structure is healthy enough to accept a REPLICATE Tooth."

~~~
wmeredith
After digging on their site, you can find the part that says these “replicate
teeth” are “medical grade” titanium. They aren’t printing with cells or
something. “Bio-printing” is just a marketing term, and a misleading one at
that.

~~~
jagannathtech
Thanks for pointing it... I fell for this

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vxNsr
Was just joking with my dentist about this. As a kid and teenager I was very
bad about brushing and only flossed if I had something painful stuck in my
teeth, I’ve paid for it with tons of cavities. She said I need to be careful
about how hard I floss now because I could damage the fillings and then will
need implants for some of them. I jokingly replied that hopefully by the time
the need arose science would be able to regrow a full set of teeth for me.

~~~
kachurovskiy
Brushing teeth is a must but flossing wasn't proven to have measurable effect
on teeth health last time I checked.

~~~
wmeredith
There was a huge (flawed) news story back in 2016 that reported flossing
wasn’t worth it and it spread like wildfire because people don’t like to
floss. Kind of like how there’s a big “wine/chocolate is good for you” article
every couple years.

I’ve worked alongside dentists in and off in a marketing capacity. I’ve also
been married to one for 15+ years and I can tell you that every dentist in the
country can look in your mouth and knows whether you floss regularly or not by
the amount of plaque built up between your teeth. And plaque is bad. The NIH
published an article shortly after the one I mentioned above to try and combat
the misinformation: [https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2016/11/dont-toss-
floss](https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2016/11/dont-toss-floss)

More on Snopes:
[https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.snopes.com/news/2016/08/06/...](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.snopes.com/news/2016/08/06/flossing-
isnt-backed-by-science/amp/)

TL;DR: flossing is poorly executed by most people (much like brushing) and the
studies on it are flawed, but you’d be hard pressed to find an oral healthcare
pro that would recommend against it, and almost all are for it. And no, there
is no “big flossing lobby” pushing it.

~~~
shortandsweet
Is a water jet equal to or better than flossing?

~~~
vmh1928
Dental plaque is a biofilm. The point of flossing is to break up the biofilm.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_plaque](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_plaque)

Here's a study (just read the summary here) that says a water jet (waterpik
brand,) is effective. No idea who paid for the study and didn't research the
plaque types mentioned against the wikipedia plaque article to see if there
are other types of plaque.

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19385349](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19385349)

I have to say if I go a couple days without flossing (once in the evening,)
but with water jetting, I can feel the floss sliding across something,
presumably the plaque/biofilm between the teeth before the floss cuts into
that layer and I can feel it against the tooth. I use one of those forked
flossers which isn't the best approach as it doesn't wrap around the tooth but
you can pivot the fork to get some extra coverage. It makes an onerous task
slightly less onerous.

You can buy plaque staining tablets to visually evaluate your plaque
condition. Buy some, water jet and test. Floss and test. let us know the
results.

I do both plus an Oral-B electric brush. Probably too much for most people.

------
mrfusion
I’ve been seeing articles about this since the 90s. I don’t think it will ever
happen. Even if we had the technology, dealing with stem cells would be super
expensive compared to doing a bridge or implant.

And for whatever reason, dentistry is an extremely conservative field.

------
carapace
In re: regeneration, see also: "The Body Electric" by Robert O. Becker and
Gary Selden
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Electric_(book)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Body_Electric_\(book\))
and "What Bodies Think About: Bioelectric Computation Outside the Nervous
System (youtube.com)"
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18736698](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18736698)

------
zxcvbn4038
I’ve been dreaming about this for forty years - ever since I read about some
guy that got irradiated by a UFO and a couple months later his teeth started
falling out and they found a brand new set growing in beneath them. Wouldn’t
it be nice?

I think they have made some advances towards this in the UK also though it’s
targeted at accident victims needing major facial reconstruction.

It would also be interesting to see how long elephants might live if we could
regrow their teeth - disease and predators aside that seems to be the limiting
factor to their life span at the moment.

------
rasputinlives
[https://twitter.com/justsaysinmice](https://twitter.com/justsaysinmice)

------
JoeAltmaier
Tooth loss is often because of gum loss. Until we can regrow gum, any new
teeth will just fall out again?

~~~
nsxwolf
There are multiple gum grafting techniques that can be used if the area is not
too far gone. This is already an issue with dental implants and those are a
proven effective option.

------
helge9210
... In mice

------
sandworm101
Why grow new biological teeth? We have the material to create and implant fake
teeth that are better in every way. The real question should be when will it
become more practical to simply replace a tooth rather than fill/cap/drill to
save the biological tooth.

~~~
windexh8er
This is simply not true. Composites of today are still more brittle and
fragile than human teeth. Also when implants are placed you're removing bone
in order to place them. This can, and often does, weaken the placement region.
Finally you're at higher risk of sinus perforation during extractions among
other, generally permanent, complications. My SO is a DSS who does all of this
and if you can keep your real teeth, they're almost always superior. Dr. Seuss
had it right.

~~~
sandworm101
>>> Also when implants are placed you're removing bone in order to place them.

Read up on dental technology. Implants are not the cutting edge of anything.
The modern trend it towards 3d printing the entire tooth, roots and all.
Within a few years there will be no need to anchor to bone. Furthermore, steel
is pretty strong. It doesn't shatter. A solid steel (or other metal) tooth,
with composite/ceramic root structure, would last more than a lifetime.

~~~
windexh8er
Like I said, my SO is a DSS and we get have copious literature on the topic
lying around the house. All of the things you've outlined don't exist or are
not widely 1) accepted and/or 2) not approved for use. And even if you can
print an entire tooth including root structure placing these printed teeth is
a challenge. I've seen crazy root structures my SO has shown me. Often times
teeth need to be sectioned for removal of them which basically makes
replacement impossible. With regard to steel with a composite on-lay, this is
exactly what I'm talking about. While steel may last the composite on-lay will
not. You're ignoring the difference in forces different teeth are subject to.
Front teeth are cutting teeth and need longitudal strength. Ceramic is no
comparison to the versatile strength of your original tooth which is why
you'll often see total failure of an implant far more often than a shattered
real tooth. While I realize you may have read a few things on the topic your
comments showcase a lack of domain expertise, so kindly heed your own advice
before positing inaccuracies.

