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It’s conceivable that teeth could eventually be replaced by one’s own teeth. All it would take is stem cells.
There are nearly 70 percent of people ages 35 to 44 that have lost at least one permanent tooth. By age 74, almost a quarter of Americans don’t have any permanent teeth left.
To grow these teeth, researchers pinpoint stem cells and isolate them from the mouth or bone marrow. The cells are then multiplied in a lab and grown on 3-D scaffolding. Studies on animals indicate that it’s possible to do the same with human teeth.
Researchers claim that teeth can be grown in a lab and then implanted in the patient. It also could be feasible for the teeth to be implanted in the patient’s mouth. The teeth would grow to full size after just a few months.
If it actually is possible to grow teeth from stem cells, other body parts could be the next step in stem cell research. Teeth can easily be extracted, which is one of the reasons that they were selected over generating other body parts through stem cell research.
The information from these studies comes from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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