The loss of teeth is a problem that most people will face at some point in their lives but now it could be a thing of the past.
According to Underground Health Reporter, at age 74, 26% of adults have lost all their permanent teeth. Dental prostheses have evolved over time, but they still have certain problems, such as discomfort, they can fail to adjust and they do not have the capacity to adapt as the surrounding jaw bone changes with age.
Now, a pioneering technique developed in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory by Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Professor of Dental Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, Edward V Zegarelli, could make tooth loss something of a what people do not worry about.
¿Why is it so important? The mouth is the first stage of our digestive system. The teeth help us to crush the food we eat. Having a healthy denture is very important to have a good diet.
Researchers have found a way to make the body's stem cells migrate to a scaffold made of natural material, which can be placed in a patient's mouth. Little by little, the tooth can grow in the cavity and then fuse with the surrounding tissue. The result is a new tooth in just eight weeks.
"These findings represent the first report of the regeneration of anatomically correct dental structures," says Dr. Mao.
The research eliminates the need to grow teeth in a Petri dish, which uses stem cells from other sources, and could lead to a faster recovery time and a much better adapted tooth.
Applause for medical science!
More information about the study in this link.
