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I've always wondered how come there wasn't more effort put into something like this. It's a huge business opportunity. Everyone hates going to the dentist.

by pier25 5y ago

SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
Hair is a bigger market. Not in terms of people it affects, but what people will pay. But.... likewise, it amazes me we have a million and a half ways to grow hair on mice, but none on humans. Makes me think we need to relax human trials on volunteers (only half joking).
- eyelidlessness 5y ago
  It’s really astonishing how I know, intuitively, this is true but how weird people’s priorities are. Being honest: 1. I started balding at a relatively normal age (first signs late 20s). At first I welcomed it, then I got a little self conscious (and wished for greys instead, those are finally coming into my beard and I couldn’t be happier). 2. I’ve had dental health issues since childhood. My family couldn’t afford regular dental care and I’ve always worried about it. 3. My teeth have rapidly deteriorated in my late 30s. I can’t currently afford any dental care and I already know I’m looking at drastic solutions when I can. Having both a thin head of hair and a mouth full of trash, I know what I’d prioritize given the chance to magically turn back time time or scientifically reverse the worst of my biology. And it’s not my hair. Shaving/trimming/styling baldness is trivial. My mouth is an unavoidable turnoff, a constant terrible personal experience, and an ongoing health risk. It’s bonkers to me that there’s more money in solving hair than solving teeth, even though I know it’s true.
  - SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
    Contrasting points... You can close your mouth., but can’t stop someone from looking at your head. You can surgically replace all your teeth with perfect replicas and no one will be able to tell otherwise except in how perfect they are. The cost for this isn’t low, but nor is it unobtainable. I bet $10k in Eastern Europe gets you nice teeth for the rest of your life. There is just no great option for hair. Even with infinite money like Musk or Bezos, you have plugs or nothing. But... if this enamel deal helps you, I’m glad!
    - eyelidlessness 5y ago
      For the vast majority of people who experience hair loss, it’s... normal and expected, maybe somewhat romantically limiting. Poor dental health can be poor health overall. Traveling to Eastern Europe to spend $10k for something I actually need is not an option for me. Yeah I can close my mouth. And suffer. And let it keep rotting, crossing my fingers that related health impacts don’t get to me before I can pay a car’s value to get health care. Or people can look at my bald head and... nothing meaningful happened. I appreciate your kindness in expressing this contrarian view, but it’s not helpful.
      - Godel_unicode 5y ago
        > normal and expected That sounds like wishful thinking, if it were true there wouldn't be a giant market in covering up hair loss.
        ebcode 5y ago
        just because there's a giant market for (covering up) something, doesn't mean it isn't normal and expected. Women's leg hair comes to mind. Also wrinkle cream. Advertising makes us do things we might not otherwise do, is what I'm saying.
        eyelidlessness 5y ago
        That sounds like the market for reversing widespread adult male hair loss is where the wishful thinking is.
      - mleonhard 5y ago
        Go for cleanings even if you don't fix the cavities right away.
    - spurgu 5y ago
      There are multiple ways you can hide your hair (hats, caps, scarfs) while it's more difficult to hide your mouth/teeth. That said it's quite easy now during COVID times!
  - randycupertino 5y ago
    I had a patient who was GOING BLIND and had a chance to get in a vision trial or a hair transplant trial but couldn't do both. He chose the hair trial. Over his own sight!! I was really annoyed at him for a while because I had moved heaven and earth for him to help him screen into the highly competitive vision trial. But... his life, his choice. Even though he made a dumb one, imo.
    - jokethrowaway 5y ago
      It sounds like the hair transplant trial is much more feasible than fixing blindness. Maybe he chose what he thought would work.
s0rce 5y ago
Teeth have remarkable intricate structure, simple depositing some disordered mineral using a bio-mimetic peptide isn't the same as regenerating your enamel. Remaking your actual tooth material is very difficult (currently no method is really known). Once the enamel is formed the cells die off and you are stuck with what you've got. Hopefully restorative options like this may be modestly successful but I'm skeptical. I worked in this area during my PhD.

I've always wondered how come there wasn't more effort put into something like this. It's a huge business opportunity. Everyone hates going to the dentist.

by pier25 5y ago

I've always wondered how come there wasn't more effort put into something like this. It's a huge business opportunity. Everyone hates going to the dentist.

SV_BubbleTime 5y ago

Hair is a bigger market. Not in terms of people it affects, but what people will pay. But.... likewise, it amazes me we have a million and a half ways to grow hair on mice, but none on humans. Makes me think we need to relax human trials on volunteers (only half joking).

eyelidlessness 5y ago
It’s really astonishing how I know, intuitively, this is true but how weird people’s priorities are. Being honest: 1. I started balding at a relatively normal age (first signs late 20s). At first I welcomed it, then I got a little self conscious (and wished for greys instead, those are finally coming into my beard and I couldn’t be happier). 2. I’ve had dental health issues since childhood. My family couldn’t afford regular dental care and I’ve always worried about it. 3. My teeth have rapidly deteriorated in my late 30s. I can’t currently afford any dental care and I already know I’m looking at drastic solutions when I can. Having both a thin head of hair and a mouth full of trash, I know what I’d prioritize given the chance to magically turn back time time or scientifically reverse the worst of my biology. And it’s not my hair. Shaving/trimming/styling baldness is trivial. My mouth is an unavoidable turnoff, a constant terrible personal experience, and an ongoing health risk. It’s bonkers to me that there’s more money in solving hair than solving teeth, even though I know it’s true.
- SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
  Contrasting points... You can close your mouth., but can’t stop someone from looking at your head. You can surgically replace all your teeth with perfect replicas and no one will be able to tell otherwise except in how perfect they are. The cost for this isn’t low, but nor is it unobtainable. I bet $10k in Eastern Europe gets you nice teeth for the rest of your life. There is just no great option for hair. Even with infinite money like Musk or Bezos, you have plugs or nothing. But... if this enamel deal helps you, I’m glad!
  - eyelidlessness 5y ago
    For the vast majority of people who experience hair loss, it’s... normal and expected, maybe somewhat romantically limiting. Poor dental health can be poor health overall. Traveling to Eastern Europe to spend $10k for something I actually need is not an option for me. Yeah I can close my mouth. And suffer. And let it keep rotting, crossing my fingers that related health impacts don’t get to me before I can pay a car’s value to get health care. Or people can look at my bald head and... nothing meaningful happened. I appreciate your kindness in expressing this contrarian view, but it’s not helpful.
    - Godel_unicode 5y ago
      > normal and expected That sounds like wishful thinking, if it were true there wouldn't be a giant market in covering up hair loss.
      - ebcode 5y ago
        just because there's a giant market for (covering up) something, doesn't mean it isn't normal and expected. Women's leg hair comes to mind. Also wrinkle cream. Advertising makes us do things we might not otherwise do, is what I'm saying.
      - eyelidlessness 5y ago
        That sounds like the market for reversing widespread adult male hair loss is where the wishful thinking is.
    - mleonhard 5y ago
      Go for cleanings even if you don't fix the cavities right away.
  - spurgu 5y ago
    There are multiple ways you can hide your hair (hats, caps, scarfs) while it's more difficult to hide your mouth/teeth. That said it's quite easy now during COVID times!
- randycupertino 5y ago
  I had a patient who was GOING BLIND and had a chance to get in a vision trial or a hair transplant trial but couldn't do both. He chose the hair trial. Over his own sight!! I was really annoyed at him for a while because I had moved heaven and earth for him to help him screen into the highly competitive vision trial. But... his life, his choice. Even though he made a dumb one, imo.
  - jokethrowaway 5y ago
    It sounds like the hair transplant trial is much more feasible than fixing blindness. Maybe he chose what he thought would work.

s0rce 5y ago

Teeth have remarkable intricate structure, simple depositing some disordered mineral using a bio-mimetic peptide isn't the same as regenerating your enamel. Remaking your actual tooth material is very difficult (currently no method is really known). Once the enamel is formed the cells die off and you are stuck with what you've got. Hopefully restorative options like this may be modestly successful but I'm skeptical. I worked in this area during my PhD.