Welcome to the Genetic Age. Hopefully someone's researching the Ecotopian or Digital Democracy civics, it's almost Turn 2025 AD for Sid Meier's sake!
this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2024
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This is fucking AWESOME!!!!
I've been taking care of my teeth because of an irrational (rational?) fear of losing them, but any accident could cause a couple of lost teeth and that's just fucked, permanent too
Yep. I lost a tooth to dropping a cell phone on my face while laying on the couch. The edge hit my lower teeth.
I'm kind of curious if this would work if you already have implants. With those being screwed into the bone would it do enough damage to prevent growing a tooth in that location?
This is my thought, and why I really want to know what needs to still exist for this technology to be viable before I decide on if I want a molar pulled.
The article seems to imply the drug works on a dormant bud of a 3rd set of teeth that mammals have but which don't normally develop into teeth...but I don't know how accurate that is. Do you really need the original tissue with the bud, or is possible to encourage ordinary gum or bone cells at a location to turn into a bud that this technology then works on?
Definitely will have implications on how it's best to go about with tooth extractions and implants for anyone hoping this tooth technology will mature within their lifetimes.
I'm young enough that it's very possible with this research that my cohort will be the first group of seniors that never get dentures, but instead get new teeth grown. And my hope that it will become like Lasik was for eyes--commonplace enough that little tooth-regrowing clinics pop up everywhere. Like, I know it's popular to think only the richest will be able to afford it...but a part of me suspects the sheer number of poor people who will clamor for this will mean they can make their profit in quantity rather than charging huge prices to rich people. Poor people are more likely to lose teeth, after all. There's more of a demand for this technology among that demographic.
Do you really need the original tissue with the bud, or is possible to encourage ordinary gum or bone cells at a location to turn into a bud that this technology then works on?
I think in the latter case the risk of developing cancer may be higher than if there are already cells in your jaw that can develop into teeth
That will be really wild, if they can get it to work.
I can't imagine that the tooth growing process will be very fast though. I'd guess months to a year, or even longer if they want to be careful about it.
I mean, just think of what it was like for teeth to come in when you were a kid. Or wisdom teeth coming in.
I think we can deal with going through that process again. It's not unfamiliar to anyone, after all, we all lived through it at least once or twice growing up.
It would be worth the wait, though! One thing (among others) that makes this sounds so great is that it wouldn't put others out. If I was 90, and wanted the chance at some teeth, and survived another five years, what a great boost in quality of life without keeping a younger candidate on a list. Same as for that 10 year old I imagine, great confidence boost and probably improved of diet.
Wait, this is a possibility? That's awesome
I've been excitedly telling my doctors that this is possibly on the horizon. And I make sure to point out there's a real pubmed article with an actual picture of a ferret in it that has a little extra tooth grown in. Most are surprised but excited when I talk about it.
It's absolutely not pie in the sky like so many things seem, it literally worked on a mammal already.
It's going to be really awesome when we can all see first hand how teeth will be the new way to distinguish between rich and poor. Cuz even if this works most of us won't be able to afford it
This has already been a thing, but with one important twist: When sugar was first imported to Europe, only rich people could afford it, and as such, their teeth went rotten far more quickly than those of poor people.
Having black or rotten teeth was a status symbol for quite a while.
The sugar marketing engine pushing black teeth as sexy.