Radio Shows | How About Re-Growing Teeth? | mp3 … wma … wav

Hey Norbert, you and I have both been spending far too much time at the dentist’s office lately.

Yea, I think I’ve paid for his new boat and contributed to his kid’s college fund.

Me too. Wouldn’t it be great to be like sharks and have extra rows of teeth ready to replace any teeth that are damaged or lost?

That’d be incredible since Americans who are twenty years and older are missing an average of four teeth due to gum disease, trauma or congenital defects.

But that can be a thing of the past if a recent discovery leads to new teeth.

Scientists have isolated a single gene called osr2 that prevents the growth of extra teeth in certain species like humans and mice. So In this study when scientists eliminated the osr2 gene in mice, the rodents actually developed extra teeth next to their first molars!

Here’s how the osr2 gene functions in humans. It works with two other genes to ensure that teeth form properly. It also shuts off those genes after our second set of teeth have formed so that additional tooth development stops.

One of those genes is the bone morphogenic protein 4 which is key to initiating teeth. The other gene encodes a protein called Msx1 to amplify the tooth generating signal. So, what if scientists were able to turn these genes back on by eliminating the osr2 gene?

There’s only one problem. In studies, the mice lacking the osr2 gene also had cleft palates severe enough to kill.

This has implications for women who are pregnant or plan to be.

So rather than eliminate the osr2 gene, scientists would have to learn to turn it off when tooth development is needed and then turn it on again.

Imagine growing new teeth at seventy!

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