Playing God. Project: Tooth Regeneration
When things go so advanced in the science of biology, like when we determine aspects of our babies or cause human ears to grow on mice, we are Playing God. This is a series that explore those advances.
Brushing the teeth is such a tedious and complicated task (just as Richard Christy). Toothbrush AND toothpaste? Clockwise motion? Straight up and down? Toothbrush with rubber guards? Electric machines? Do it with too much gusto, and you erode the gums. Do it too infrequently, your teeth rot and fall out. I just... can't get wrap my hands around how complicated it is! In 50 years, society will be laughing as they look at toothbrushes in the Smithsonian. It'll be looked back upon like x-raying feet to measure them, racism or smoking. Barbaric stuff.
Well, there is hope for people like me who can't wrap their heads around the brushing concept and execution. It comes from the University of California at San Francisco. What we're talking about is tooth regeneration, people. My dreams, come true.
Brushing the teeth is such a tedious and complicated task (just as Richard Christy). Toothbrush AND toothpaste? Clockwise motion? Straight up and down? Toothbrush with rubber guards? Electric machines? Do it with too much gusto, and you erode the gums. Do it too infrequently, your teeth rot and fall out. I just... can't get wrap my hands around how complicated it is! In 50 years, society will be laughing as they look at toothbrushes in the Smithsonian. It'll be looked back upon like x-raying feet to measure them, racism or smoking. Barbaric stuff.
Well, there is hope for people like me who can't wrap their heads around the brushing concept and execution. It comes from the University of California at San Francisco. What we're talking about is tooth regeneration, people. My dreams, come true.
The tooth is made of two materials: outside is the enamel and inside is the dentin. Both are minerals, and so they can be eroded, especially by acids created from bacteria, candy and soda. What happens when those acid get to work? Erosion! Cavities! Yay!
Of course, if we don't address the cavities, the erosion continues until it travels through the tooth right into the root. And then it's root canal time! Yay! How to fill these cavities? We fill that thing with a... filling. These fillings, though, are made of metal and have been since 1840. Isn't it time for something new?
So, here comes Sally Marshall at the University of California. She and her team have developed an ion solution that is expected to build back that dentin mineral composite. Build back the tooth structure! How glorious! One of the biggest challenge for this project is to build up the tooth from the deepest part of the hole to the surface. It does no good to have pockets of bacteria-air in the middle of a tooth.
It's still a few years away from being refined for our usage, so until then I can only day dream about replacing my 47 tooth brushes with the newest Listerine that builds the tooth back as I swish.
Any step towards understanding and controlling complicated human body functions like growing teeth is a step closer to Playing God.
Wired
Of course, if we don't address the cavities, the erosion continues until it travels through the tooth right into the root. And then it's root canal time! Yay! How to fill these cavities? We fill that thing with a... filling. These fillings, though, are made of metal and have been since 1840. Isn't it time for something new?
So, here comes Sally Marshall at the University of California. She and her team have developed an ion solution that is expected to build back that dentin mineral composite. Build back the tooth structure! How glorious! One of the biggest challenge for this project is to build up the tooth from the deepest part of the hole to the surface. It does no good to have pockets of bacteria-air in the middle of a tooth.
It's still a few years away from being refined for our usage, so until then I can only day dream about replacing my 47 tooth brushes with the newest Listerine that builds the tooth back as I swish.
Any step towards understanding and controlling complicated human body functions like growing teeth is a step closer to Playing God.
Wired
Join the HAWTaction reader group on Facebook.
I brush my teeth with dirt and stones.
I'm the best blogger, ever.
- JLF
You know who could have used this?
Baba Booey! Baba Booey!