Your mom always told you, you better brush, because you only get one set of permanent teeth and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Dental science has come a long way in figuring out how to replace those missing teeth. Dr. Paul Sharpe, a dental researcher in London, is working on technology that may enable adult humans to someday grow new, natural teeth. He will be discussing his latest research this week at the First International Conference on Dental and Craniofacial Stem Cells in New York City. To date, he has successfully showns that a natural tooth can grow from tooth stem cells placed into an incision in the gum of mice. Says Dr. Sharpe, ”In the future we envision a patient who loses a tooth and wants a replacement will be able to choose between current methods and a biological-based implant – a new natural tooth-derived from the patient’s own dental stem cells.” Not sure about the price tag, but I’m betting its not a bargain.
So your mom was right, better take care of those chompers.