6 replies to this topic

[extrasolar]

i was just thinking today

how would you go about regenerating teeth if you are going to have an indefinate lifespan

its not unheard of to regrow teeth

which makes me have some thoughts

which gene regows teeth (either individual or sets)

maybe we all aquire a disease that causes us not to regenerate adult teeth as they are widely called

final thought most teeth are eroded by chemicals which makes me think

to activate the process of tooth regeneration what do you have to do

teething therapy?

who knows

what could be next chew toys for grown ups?

[lunarsolarpower]

For now these should work:

Nobel Biocare Implants
Straumann Implants

In the future these guys might have something even better:

Odontis

Meanwhile it is important to take as good care of your existing dentition as possible. Make sure you are informed about proper technique for hygiene - particularly flossing - it's not simply snapping the floss between each pair of teeth. Be aware of remineralization and the products that are available.

If you have teeth that need restorations composites allow more conservative preparations than amalgams. Any restoration has a finite lifespan and will eventually need replacement which will entail further loss of tooth structure. If your lesion is in a non-esthetic and non-functional location Glass Ionomer may be a good choice of restorative material.

[Mind]

Just wanted make sure everyone knows we have a Dental Health Forum now. I will move this topic to that forum.

Also, there is an extensive re-mineralization topic there.

[Mind]

Researchers find the gene to regrow enamel. So maybe your hope for regrowing teeth is not too far off on the horizon extrasolar.

The gene, called Ctip2, is a "transcription factor" that was already known to have several functions - in immune response, and the development of skin and the nervous system. Scientists can now add tooth development to that list.

The findings were just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"It's not unusual for a gene to have multiple functions, but before this we didn't know what regulated the production of tooth enamel," said Chrissa Kioussi, an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy at Oregon State University. "This is the first transcription factor ever found to control the formation and maturation of ameloblasts, which are the cells that secrete enamel."

[caston]

Make sure you are informed about proper technique for hygiene - particularly flossing - it's not simply snapping the floss between each pair of teeth.

What flossing technique do you recommend?

[Mind]

Master tooth growth gene found.

Teeth may not be visible until long after birth, but they start to form early in embryo development. Teeth ultimately erupt from a thickened band of tissue along the jaw line called the dental lamina, a band that forms in a top layer of the gum called the epithelium. Scientists have long thought the signals for tooth formation must lie in that tissue layer as well.

Not so, the Rochester team found: All the action takes place instead in a deeper cell layer called the mesenchyme.

Think of the Osr2 gene as a control switch, a kind of gene that turns on and off the downstream actions of other genes and proteins. In that mesenchymal tissue, the Osr2 gene works in concert with two other genes to make sure budding teeth form in the right spot, said lead researcher Dr. Rulang Jiang, a geneticist at Rochester's Center for Oral Biology.

"It's almost a self-generating propagation of the signal" that leads to one tooth after another forming all in a row, he explained.

Knocking that molecular pathway out of whack causes either missing or extra teeth to result, Jiang showed in a series of mouse experiments.

[lunarsolarpower]

What flossing technique do you recommend?

From http://www.imminst.o...o...st&p=298076

Good technique is essential to getting the best results when flossing. It's not simply snapping the floss in and out of the gaps. It's easiest to achieve the level of control needed if you wrap the floss around your middle finger on each hand and use your thumbs and index fingers to hold a ~3 cm piece that you actually do the work with. You have to carefully insert it (a sideways sliding motion works great) to avoid hurting the gingival papilla between the teeth. Then wrap it around the base of one tooth using a finger on each side to maneuver. Slide it up the tooth surface several times removing the plaque before repeating on the opposing tooth before removing the floss from the embrasure.