Dr. Mogell Dental Blog

Boca Raton Cosmetic Dentistry

Cloning Teeth--What's the point?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

CLONING TEETH

In the Sunday Sun Sentinel the cover story on the Outlook page surprisingly was about dentistry. More specifically it dealt with cloning teeth! I have discussed this before, but now it seems that there is much more to “chew on” with regard to this subject.

We have known for several years that researchers were trying to develop ways to ‘grow’ new teeth to replace those that were lost. Unlike sharks, humans are only blessed with one set of teeth as adults. For most of the 20th Century, the alternative to lost teeth was a bridge or a denture. Whether a partial or complete bridge or denture, these replacements were always a foreign body that substituted for the real thing.

In the late 20th Century the advent of implants to replace missing or lost teeth became a reality. I lost a front tooth a few years ago and it has been replaced with an implant. From a practical and aesthetic point of view I can’t even tell it is there. So the question begs , is cloning new teeth a good option or have we already developed the best alternative for missing teeth?

I want to be clear that we are many years from having teeth ready to be cloned for human beings. The dental researchers have been triumphant in regenerating teeth in animals. This has been done utilizing stem cells. Depending on what side of the line you stand on, this in itself may make this subject controversial.

My thoughts about cloning teeth lead me to ask why did the patients who need tooth replacement loose their teeth to begin with? Was it due to neglect? Did they have periodontal disease? Did they have decay? If so, what is to prevent these issues from happening again?

I often tell people who have implants placed that they will never get a cavity on that ‘tooth’ because titanium will not decay! Today we have achieved tremendous success in the area of tooth replacement. I can easily see the impact that cloning livers or kidneys can do to change or even save someone’s life; the impact of a tooth being cloned just doesn’t seem to have the same effect. If you have any questions regarding implant dentistry please do not hesitate to call our office. We can be reached at 561-394-9000.

Kenneth A. Mogell, D.M.D.