Comment by EvanAnderson

12 days ago

Same feeling here. Dental seems particularly fraught (though maybe I just pay more attention to it out of interest). I know the cycle time between press releases/hype and actual application can be the better part of a decade, so I assume that's coloring my perception too.

re: dental in particular - It seems like enamel regeneration and stem-cell-based tooth replacement have both been in the news year-after-year without applications actually coming to market.

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EvanAnderson

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matthewfcarlson  12 days ago

Everyone knows that teeth are luxury bones in the US. The market just isn't there for fancy treatments. The ultra-wealthy just get their teeth replaced with perfect veneers anyway.

  • iamacyborg  12 days ago

    > The ultra-wealthy just get their teeth replaced with perfect veneers anyway.

    Na, that’s the working class turkey teeth crowd.

thaumasiotes  12 days ago

> stem-cell-based tooth replacement

Really? This sounds more like someone's plan to get grants to research stem cells than someone's plan to repair (or replace) teeth.

We already have a natural ability to grow new teeth that replace existing ones. Everybody does it... once. Where's the research into getting it to happen again?

  • gus_massa  12 days ago

    Theet formation is a very early procces, even before the baby is born.

    > Primary (baby) teeth start to form between the sixth and eighth week of prenatal development, and permanent teeth begin to form in the twentieth week.

    So it's probably too late for you.

  • EvanAnderson  12 days ago

    There has been a ton of research in the area of re-growing teeth from stem cells. A cursory search-engining will turn up a ton of articles, some going back decades, and many giving the impression that it's close to happening. I've been following it for awhile because I knew I'd be in the market for a new tooth eventually.

    Here's an example of one from earlier this year at King's College, London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/lab-grown-teeth-might-become-an-a...