A friend of mine lost most of his eyesight due to a chemical explosion. He has regained a good deal of it back because of Stem cell research and therapy.

Lynda

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Researchers from New York City’s Columbia University Medical Center ( Stem cells in the face: tooth regeneration and beyond. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22958928/ )

hope that they can get a patient’s own stem cells to grow an anatomically correct tooth. In addition to that, the new tooth will actually grow in a person’s empty socket, even allowing it to merge with the surrounding gum tissue. They’ve already proven the ability to grow the teeth, though not in humans yet.

According to the Journal of Dental Research, the researchers conducted an experiment using 22 rats and pigs. After growth factors were implanted in their mouths, new bone material regenerated and integrated within 9 weeks. According to the researchers, this is the first time teeth-like structures have been regenerated in a living organism.

If this treatment proves successful in humans, there can be a variety of benefits that come along with the new procedure. Since the tooth is grown in the socket where it will stay, there is also no need to harvest outside stem cells or create an outside environment for the tooth as it grows. Because of this, researchers hope that this will be a more cost-effective solution for patients who can’t afford dental implants. In addition, since the tooth grows right in the mouth, there will likely be less recovery time and it will be less likely for teeth to fail.