13 ms·

This is insanely cool, and I imagine there is no need for me to explain how useful this would be in comparison to the current dental approaches today. But is t

by slimsag 10y ago

This is insanely cool, and I imagine there is no need for me to explain how useful this would be in comparison to the current dental approaches today. But is this technology ever going to be available to consumers? I remember reading about similar advancements almost three years ago and haven't heard anything related until now. Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I think we won't see this in practice for a Very Long Time™.

saurik 10y ago
I really enjoyed this thread from a recent (two weeks ago) post about another advance in the treatment of cavities (a year before) that touched on this feeling. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13274183 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13274183
- ricardobeat 10y ago
  That discussion got me on a search spree. Apparently others have picked up on the root-analogue implant idea and it is now available in the Netherlands, maybe soon in the USA: http://www.replicatetooth.com/for-patients http://www.replicatetooth.com/for-patients This one is still made of titanium though, the Zirconia ones by BioImplant seem to make more sense. Anyway, not a cure but at least you don't need someone drilling into your head when cavities win a match.
  - fractallyte 10y ago
    There are some major issues with the Replicate system: a paucity of actual cases (I also can't see any long term follow-ups); and the fact that the actual implant is a dark grey - this unpleasant discoloration will show through gums. BioImplant has a long history, with comprehensive case histories and follow-ups readily viewable on the website. This is very important for medical credibility. (I worked with the creator of BioImplant.) On the other hand, Replicate Tooth has a very nice website!
brandon272 10y ago
I actually find these articles depressing because it seems like nothing like this ever ultimately comes to fruition. I'm guessing these "breakthroughs" have always been just around the corner. I recall having a conversation with my dentist almost 20 years ago about things that were up and coming that were about to make our lives a lot easier in terms of saving and strengthening and building tooth enamel but none of what he described ever came.
- hackits 10y ago
  I would of liked to been told `Nothing is going to come on the market` instead of `All this wonderful technology is going to solve any problems you're going to have`. The latter results in careless behavior, the former results more careful behavior. Personally as someone as a kid was going up out-back Australia who's parents and care giver didn't put fluoride tablets into the water because it caused the water to `taste bad`. As a result I have screwed up teeth. Discussed this with this with my parents years later. Their reasoning for my teeth problem was poor diet and eating sugary food (Completely ignoring the fact they tossed the tablets into the bin). Fast forward into the future with a family and two children I don't have soft drink, fruit juice in the house. Who would of known, all the kids teeth are great since our last dentist visit.
  - poikniok 10y ago
    Fluoride decreases IQ significantly, be thankful that at least you are intelligent, albeit with bad teeth.
    - sathackr 10y ago
      Source?
      - vanattab 10y ago
        The practice of fluoride in drinking water does seem to be getting some push back of late. I did a quick google scholar search for "fluoride drinking water" and found some articles on both sides.
Coincoin 10y ago
You are not pessimistic. It's another one of those thing that have been only a few years away from commercialization for 20 years now. This is happening so often, there must be a name or a law for that.
- simonsarris 10y ago
  Pessimistically, that name is "Stagnation Hypothesis" (edit, oops the term Peter Thiel/Tyler Cowen like is "Great Stagnation." See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_yJTCDU4uE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_yJTCDU4uE)
- 13of40 10y ago
  Reminds me of a successful experiment where they caused mice to develop an immunity to plaque bacteria. I read about that in a dental training manual I found in a thrift shop about 20 years ago. Had photos of healthy rat teeth and everything.
  - sobani 10y ago
    According to a researcher on a recent Radiolab episode[1], 99.6% of results on mice don't replicate to humans. I assume for rats a similar figure applies. [1] http://www.radiolab.org/story/bringing-gamma-back http://www.radiolab.org/story/bringing-gamma-back (about treating Alzheimer’s disease with light)
sandworm101 10y ago
There are limits to its usefullness. Teeth wear down pver time. This may repair a cavity but cannot rebuild a tooth mechanically worn away with age or with fractures, often a result of cavities. Fillings may be less needed but crowns (i have three) arent going away. Teeth are not perfect. If i was going to mars id have them all either crowned or replaced with implants. Teeth are strong, but not stronger than metal.
divanvisagie 10y ago
Pretty sure they covered time to market in the article
sytelus 10y ago
One way I filter my science news is to ignore all headlines that contains the word "may", "could be", etc. I don't recall in recent times seeing an actual product release corresponding to one of these headlines. Most of the time its just some research group doing some experiment in very narrow scope, working slowly towards 10 year horizon and doing some PR to renew the funding.
ChuckMcM 10y ago
I think this is cool research and I hope they can bring it to market but in the "its cool stage" it just makes it harder to convince your kids to brush :-) Parent: "Brush your teeth or you will end up with all this dental work like I have." Kid: "Nah, we'll have regrowable teeth by then." FWIW, I got an implant a couple of years ago and talked to my dentist about these sorts of things. On the plus side an implant is known to work, will likely last beyond my death, makes my remains easier to identify is an obliteration scenario and is available today. The down side is that you can never regrow that tooth once you've sealed a tungsten post into your jawbone.
- stplsd 10y ago
  I am only 30 years old and have shitty job, and half of my teeth are missing. Implants are my only hope so far. But compared to natural tooth, implants are so crude replacement. Fuck my life.
- sqldba 10y ago
  I thought implants only have a ten year lifespan?
  - jessaustin 10y ago
    At least in USA, there is a vast range in implant placement technique among practicing dentists. Improperly placed, they'll fail in six months. Properly placed, and with no later issues such as abscesses, they should get stronger and stronger over time.
- rincebrain 10y ago
  Why not? What makes it more traumatic/infeasible than removing a tooth in the first place?
Sophistifunk 10y ago
I distinctly remember seeing a story maybe 20 years ago about a university breeding a bacteria that out-competes the stuff in your mouth, but doesn't excrete the acid that wrecks your teeth. It was supposedly going into products that same year, but I never heard of it again.
- funkymike 10y ago
  This is what humanity really needs. The best part is that once it is out in the wild it should spread naturally, if slowly. Thus it will eventually penetrate to every human society and wipe out the current strains of the bacteria.
amelius 10y ago
> Prof Sharpe said a new treatment could be available soon: "I don't think it's massively long term, it's quite low-hanging fruit in regenerative medicine and hopeful in a three-to-five year period this would be commercially available."
monkey88 10y ago
Paul Sharpe has been in the news for these kinds of announcements before. His company, Odontis, failed to bring any new thing to market, and that was 10 years ago. Perhaps now there is a more mature product.

by slimsag 10y ago

saurik 10y ago

I really enjoyed this thread from a recent (two weeks ago) post about another advance in the treatment of cavities (a year before) that touched on this feeling. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13274183 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13274183

ricardobeat 10y ago
That discussion got me on a search spree. Apparently others have picked up on the root-analogue implant idea and it is now available in the Netherlands, maybe soon in the USA: http://www.replicatetooth.com/for-patients http://www.replicatetooth.com/for-patients This one is still made of titanium though, the Zirconia ones by BioImplant seem to make more sense. Anyway, not a cure but at least you don't need someone drilling into your head when cavities win a match.
- fractallyte 10y ago
  There are some major issues with the Replicate system: a paucity of actual cases (I also can't see any long term follow-ups); and the fact that the actual implant is a dark grey - this unpleasant discoloration will show through gums. BioImplant has a long history, with comprehensive case histories and follow-ups readily viewable on the website. This is very important for medical credibility. (I worked with the creator of BioImplant.) On the other hand, Replicate Tooth has a very nice website!

brandon272 10y ago

I actually find these articles depressing because it seems like nothing like this ever ultimately comes to fruition. I'm guessing these "breakthroughs" have always been just around the corner. I recall having a conversation with my dentist almost 20 years ago about things that were up and coming that were about to make our lives a lot easier in terms of saving and strengthening and building tooth enamel but none of what he described ever came.

hackits 10y ago
I would of liked to been told `Nothing is going to come on the market` instead of `All this wonderful technology is going to solve any problems you're going to have`. The latter results in careless behavior, the former results more careful behavior. Personally as someone as a kid was going up out-back Australia who's parents and care giver didn't put fluoride tablets into the water because it caused the water to `taste bad`. As a result I have screwed up teeth. Discussed this with this with my parents years later. Their reasoning for my teeth problem was poor diet and eating sugary food (Completely ignoring the fact they tossed the tablets into the bin). Fast forward into the future with a family and two children I don't have soft drink, fruit juice in the house. Who would of known, all the kids teeth are great since our last dentist visit.
- poikniok 10y ago
  Fluoride decreases IQ significantly, be thankful that at least you are intelligent, albeit with bad teeth.
  - sathackr 10y ago
    Source?
    - vanattab 10y ago
      The practice of fluoride in drinking water does seem to be getting some push back of late. I did a quick google scholar search for "fluoride drinking water" and found some articles on both sides.

Coincoin 10y ago

You are not pessimistic. It's another one of those thing that have been only a few years away from commercialization for 20 years now. This is happening so often, there must be a name or a law for that.

simonsarris 10y ago
Pessimistically, that name is "Stagnation Hypothesis" (edit, oops the term Peter Thiel/Tyler Cowen like is "Great Stagnation." See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_yJTCDU4uE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_yJTCDU4uE)
13of40 10y ago
Reminds me of a successful experiment where they caused mice to develop an immunity to plaque bacteria. I read about that in a dental training manual I found in a thrift shop about 20 years ago. Had photos of healthy rat teeth and everything.
- sobani 10y ago
  According to a researcher on a recent Radiolab episode[1], 99.6% of results on mice don't replicate to humans. I assume for rats a similar figure applies. [1] http://www.radiolab.org/story/bringing-gamma-back http://www.radiolab.org/story/bringing-gamma-back (about treating Alzheimer’s disease with light)

sandworm101 10y ago

There are limits to its usefullness. Teeth wear down pver time. This may repair a cavity but cannot rebuild a tooth mechanically worn away with age or with fractures, often a result of cavities. Fillings may be less needed but crowns (i have three) arent going away. Teeth are not perfect. If i was going to mars id have them all either crowned or replaced with implants. Teeth are strong, but not stronger than metal.

divanvisagie 10y ago

Pretty sure they covered time to market in the article

sytelus 10y ago

One way I filter my science news is to ignore all headlines that contains the word "may", "could be", etc. I don't recall in recent times seeing an actual product release corresponding to one of these headlines. Most of the time its just some research group doing some experiment in very narrow scope, working slowly towards 10 year horizon and doing some PR to renew the funding.

ChuckMcM 10y ago

I think this is cool research and I hope they can bring it to market but in the "its cool stage" it just makes it harder to convince your kids to brush :-) Parent: "Brush your teeth or you will end up with all this dental work like I have." Kid: "Nah, we'll have regrowable teeth by then." FWIW, I got an implant a couple of years ago and talked to my dentist about these sorts of things. On the plus side an implant is known to work, will likely last beyond my death, makes my remains easier to identify is an obliteration scenario and is available today. The down side is that you can never regrow that tooth once you've sealed a tungsten post into your jawbone.

stplsd 10y ago
I am only 30 years old and have shitty job, and half of my teeth are missing. Implants are my only hope so far. But compared to natural tooth, implants are so crude replacement. Fuck my life.
sqldba 10y ago
I thought implants only have a ten year lifespan?
- jessaustin 10y ago
  At least in USA, there is a vast range in implant placement technique among practicing dentists. Improperly placed, they'll fail in six months. Properly placed, and with no later issues such as abscesses, they should get stronger and stronger over time.
rincebrain 10y ago
Why not? What makes it more traumatic/infeasible than removing a tooth in the first place?

Sophistifunk 10y ago

I distinctly remember seeing a story maybe 20 years ago about a university breeding a bacteria that out-competes the stuff in your mouth, but doesn't excrete the acid that wrecks your teeth. It was supposedly going into products that same year, but I never heard of it again.

funkymike 10y ago
This is what humanity really needs. The best part is that once it is out in the wild it should spread naturally, if slowly. Thus it will eventually penetrate to every human society and wipe out the current strains of the bacteria.

amelius 10y ago

> Prof Sharpe said a new treatment could be available soon: "I don't think it's massively long term, it's quite low-hanging fruit in regenerative medicine and hopeful in a three-to-five year period this would be commercially available."

monkey88 10y ago

Paul Sharpe has been in the news for these kinds of announcements before. His company, Odontis, failed to bring any new thing to market, and that was 10 years ago. Perhaps now there is a more mature product.