ADA Releases Resources On Genetics And Oral Health

In a release on PRNewswire, the American Dental Association discusses its new resources related to genetics and oral health that are available for dental professionals and the public. According to the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs’ Genetic Testing Workgroup, “While genetic testing holds potential for clinical application in the future, clinical measurements remain the best approach to assessment of caries and periodontal disease at this time.” The release states that “the ADA’s resource on genetics and genetic testing explains basic genetic principles, genetic testing and using genetic information in decision-making in dentistry.”

Researchers Aim To Shed Light On Lab-Grown Teeth, Tissue Regeneration

The University of California – San Francisco states that “one of the enduring puzzles for stem cell researchers” is how these cells “know when it’s time for them to expand in numbers and transform into mature, adult cells in order to renew injured or aging tissue.” In an attempt to understand this “decision-making process,” the release states researchers are studying the front teeth of mice to identify the signals that trigger the teeth to continuously grow. UC San Francisco’s Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, a professor of orofacial sciences in UCSF’s School of Dentistry, explained, “Our lab’s objective is to learn the rules that let mouse incisors grow continuously to help us one day grow teeth in the lab, but also to help us identify general principles that could enable us to understand the processes of tissue renewal much more broadly.” A study published in Cell Stem Cell discusses some of their findings into this process.

Research Team Develops Model To Digitally Reconstruct Teeth

Engadget reports that Disney Research and ETH Zurich have developed a method “to digitally recreate teeth beyond the gum line” using “source data and everyday imagery.” After creating a model for an “average” set of teeth using 3D scans, the team “wrote an algorithm that adapts that model based on what it sees in the contours of teeth in photos and videos.” According to the article, the technology will benefit “digital actor models in animated movies and video games,” but also has “plenty of medical uses.” For example, dentists could use the technology “to previsualize a patient’s mouth before they sit in the operating chair.”

        A release on EurekAlert states that the model-based method to reconstruct teeth uses “just a few, non-invasive photos or a short smartphone video of the mouth.” In addition, the “method can digitally reconstruct teeth even though some teeth are obscured in the photos or videos by the edges of the mouth or by other teeth.”