Comments on: Adult Mouse Gets a New Tooth, Grown From Embryonic Cells

By: Angela

Angela — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:13:37 +0000

When can I sign my toothless 73 year old father up for this? ;-) He grew up in a very poor farming family, in an area where the Great Depression did not end until approximately 1960. So there was no money for dentists for him or his 10 other siblings (lots of kids = lots of labor on a farm). He hates dentures, which has negatively impacted his diet and nutrition to a moderate extent. While I had the advantages of a dentist, anti-cavity toothpaste, floss, etc, I still have pretty crappy teeth that I’m blaming on both of my parents and their families also having crappy teeth (I brush every day, I swear! And floss, though not daily, but who does?) So being able to regenerate adult teeth would be fabulous! And since dad is also diabetic, I hope that this research can also lead to regeneration of the pancreas, kidneys, etc. for the millions in the world who struggle with chronic health problems. Great article!

By: MB

MB — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:23:46 +0000

So I’m really curious as to where the scientists got the initial “tooth germ” cells from. If it was from a different mouse embryo, then wouldn’t the new mouse reject the foreign tooth tissue?

By: ME

ME — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:44:34 +0000

yes, if we figure out how to take care of our teeth better we might be able to keep them. However, if we get more traditional with our problem, we might just be living too long for our teeth to remain. Let’s not forget that the reason wisdom teeth are such a modern problem is that we don’t lose enough teeth throughout our lives to make them useful, leading to crowding and pain.

By: The Bishop Sswine

The Bishop Sswine — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:50:49 +0000

I suppose it will eventually lead to adult teeth being replacable which has to be good news. On the other hand if we looked after our teeth properly we would be able to die with our god given 2nd set still in place.

By: Romeo Vitelli

Romeo Vitelli — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:35:17 +0000

Teething was no fun the first time around. I doubt it gets any easier as we get older