Just read (OK, well only the abstract....I don't even pretend to really understand any of this) about a study citing a new technique that can orchestrate the body's own stem cells to regenerate teeth. Whoa!
Here's what Dr. Jeremy Mao, lead author on the study published in the latest issue of Journal of Dental Research, wants us to know:
"These findings represent the first report of regeneration of anatomically shaped tooth-like structures in vivo by cell homing." By homing (homing....sounds so, well, nice) stem cells, Dr. Mao and his colleagues have potentially created an alternative to implants. Their work shows that a tooth can be grown "orthotopically," or in the tooth socketand that it can integrate with surrounding tissue in ways that are impossible for implants.
And hard at work promoting awareness of this research is an innovative company, StemSave, which provides a service to dental practices that allows patients to recover their own stem cells as part of routine dental procedures and bank them for future use in stem cell based therapies.
The future's here. You can read the abstract of the article online and can find out more about StemSave by visiting its web site.