Be Healed - Health and Fitness

Will the tooth fairy be out of work? The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science recently reported that researchers at the Tokyo University of Science have grown a fully functioning replacement tooth from embryonic stem cells in mice. An adult mouse was implanted with a “bio engineered tooth germ,” which are a set of stem cells the scientists had manipulated to contain the genetic codes to build a tooth. The tooth grew as expected, out of the empty tooth socket and through the gums and even had nerve fibers that responded to pain. It was in all aspects just the same as a natural tooth and the mice were able to use the new teeth to eat. This is the first time a fully functioning replacement organ has been successfully developed and it is hoped that the same technology can one day be used on humans to replace damaged organs.

Good news for the oral health care world? You bet! The recession has caused more people to put off getting dental procedures done and this is really exciting news for those concerned about losing teeth to decay and gum disease and don’t want dentures. But regenerating new teeth to place your old ones is still a long ways off. So it is best to take care of the teeth you have now. After all, you only get the one set after you lose the baby teeth.

Keep your pearly whites in good shape by protecting and caring for your teeth by properly brushing and flossing your teeth everyday. Make this chore easier with a Phillips Sonicare toothbrush! Any electric toothbrush is far better than a manual one, but the technology behind the Sonicare simulates over a thousand brushstrokes per second giving you a near professional feeling of clean. Run it over your gums to get a deeper clean and stimulate blood circulation. Use the water pick attachment to blast plaque in hard to reach areas. This way, you can keep your original set of teeth and avoid a rodent grown pair of dentures!

Guest Blogger: Phan Tieu T.
has all of her teeth, what about you?