Many of us love science and get excited about scientific breakthroughs. Bringing innovation to bear upon human health is particularly fascinating. Dentistry is not widely considered so appealing per se, even though it exclusively takes place inside the mouth. Somehow teeth and all the things that can go wrong with them and that white lab coat are a bit of a turn off. Our teeth, frustratingly, wear out before we do. Therefore, we find ourselves looking around for alternatives. Implants, those screw in false teeth, offer a permanent solution to the age-old problem. There are issues for some, however, involving what to screw the implants into. In the near future it seems that successful dental implants may involve stem cells and bone regeneration. This article peers into the maw and shines a light on those core concerns.

Down To The Bare Bones & Implanting Dentures

It comes down to the bone. You have heard the expression ‘to the bone’ – I am sure. “Down to the marrow’ is another. The bone is the bedrock within us, it is the framework upon which everything else hangs together. Well, when it comes to dental implants, bone is the final arbiter whether you can have this biotechnology or not. Implants must have secure bone to screw into or cannot provide the stable base they depend upon.

“One of the key factors of success in a dental implant is the condition of the periodontium around the implant. A higher long-term success rate of dental implants requires sufficient and healthy alveolar bone. In those cases where lack of alveolar bone renders setting an implant difficult, the bone should be regenerated sufficiently to receive the implant, whether before or during the implant surgery.”
– Science Daily

Scientific Ingenuity & Dental Brilliance

One saying you may not be as familiar with is – ‘you cannot keep a good dentist down.’ This is very true in this instance, because if a lack of bone exists – today’s super smart dentist will endeavour to grow you some. This is where the stem cells and bone regeneration come into the picture for successful implants. The ingenuity of dentists, chemical engineers, and oral surgeons are impressive when it comes to grafting and growing bone. The research being conducted at three facilities in South Korea indicate this in spades.

“Three research teams led by Professor Hyung Joon Cha of the Chemical Engineering Department at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Professor Yun Kee Jo of the School of Convergence at Kyungpook National University (KNU), and Professor Sang Ho Jun of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Korea University Anam Hospital together developed an osteogenic barrier coating material for dental implants that prevents the invasion of soft tissue cells, attracts osteo-progenitor cells including bone stem cells, and sustainably releases the loaded bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), significantly facilitating bone regeneration.”
– Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH). “Attracting stem cells and facilitating bone regeneration by adhesive protein.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 March 2023.

Guided Bone Regeneration Secrets

Guided Bone Regeneration (GBR) is the key pathway, which is widely employed in dental implant placement. Apparently, it is all about maintaining the space for bones to grow and preventing bad stuff from happening. Stuff like fibroblasts, which are the wrong cells and not osteogenic cells, turning up in the bone defect areas. GBR stops these non-osteogenic cells from interfering with the regeneration. In the Korean studies, barrier membranes with special coatings designed to attract the right cells were used to great effect.

“The team also found that it induced a high level of bone differentiation in a short period of time inside the membrane by means of high growth of mesenchymal stem cells and release of BMP-2.”
– Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH). “Attracting stem cells and facilitating bone regeneration by adhesive protein.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 March 2023.

Going Beyond The Biotech Frontier

Biotechnology is the term used to describe the melding of tech within the natural biology of the creature. Through avenues like chemical engineering, we can enhance the existing biological framework for better outcomes where required. Yuval Harari, the futurist and best-selling author of Homo Sapiens, predicts the cessation of our species in this millennia. It is not all doom and gloom, however, because Harari foretells the emergence of a new version of our species. An enhanced biotech version of humanity, part bio and part machine with nano technology improving upon the existing model. This kind of stuff is pretty controversial and taps into the whole ‘every stem cell is sacred’ opposition to such fiddling with nature. Will dentistry be the unwitting vehicle for the mass acceptance of going beyond the biotech frontier?

Human Augmentation & Enhancement

“To what extent should we use technology to try to make better human beings? Because of the remarkable advances in biomedical science, we must now find an answer to this question. Human enhancement aims to increase human capacities above normal levels. Many forms of human enhancement are already in use. Many students and academics take cognition enhancing drugs to get a competitive edge. Some top athletes boost their performance with legal and illegal substances. Many an office worker begins each day with a dose of caffeine. This is only the beginning. As science and technology advance further, it will become increasingly possible to enhance basic human capacities to increase or modulate cognition, mood, personality, and physical performance, and to control the biological processes underlying normal aging. Some have suggested that such advances would take us beyond the bounds of human nature.”
– Academic.com

Will Homo Deus Still Need The Dentist?

In the infinite future of dental implants, stem cells and bone regeneration may be just the beginning. If we can regenerate bone and guide that bone along its way, what is to stop us taking this in new and novel directions? The wonders of remodelling the human jaw with dental implants designed to endure beyond the life span of the average human being may just be an early advancement for much more radical surgeries. Biting down on new challenges, as yet unseen, may well be the next step for Homo Deus on our travels through time and space. Firstly, though we will screw down those dental implants into the secure base of well grown bone. Viktor Frankenstein may have been a figment of Mary Shelley’s imagination but these bolts in the jaw are neither monstrous or an outlier in the 21C. Rather, they put the bite back into the jaws of some pretty smart great apes.

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