| I found this rather amusing comment on a Russian dental forum a while ago. Sorry for possible mistranslation, I am neither a dentist nor a native English speaker. ---- I spent some time contemplating the future where this tech would be widely available. What this New Dentistry would be like?
Pretty much the same thing we have with implants today. We will have all the same problems with crooked teeth. With lack of bone and gum tissue. Plus aesthetics, and decay of new teeth. Periodontal issues, calculus, etc, etc... Growing new teeth won't be a real breakthrough. Imagine a patient missing some teeth. He sees a... what's his name... an toothgrowologist for a consult. "Hey Doc, what would you recommend?" "We need to grow you 9 new upper teeth and 8 new lower teeth, correct malocclusion with braces, possibly add some veneers for aesthetics... This will add up to $30-$50K." "$30K???" "Might be up to $50K." "Don't you have cheaper options?" "Well, you could get implants..." "Nuh-uh, I don't want implants, I want real teeth. Maybe you could grow me just a few, and put bridges on top?" "Uh... uh.... Whatever you like..." Here are some quotes from a future internet forum on dentistry: "My toothgrowologist has grown me a tooth, and apparently I didn't have enough bone and gum tissue, now the root is bare and I've got cervical decay... What do I do now?" "My toothgrowologist has grown me a tooth, and it turned out a premolar instead of an incisor. He told me this happens sometimes, and now I have to get it devitalized, and cover it with a crown..." "My toothgrowologist has grown me a tooth, and it points toward my cheek. Now I have to get braces. Can I make the toothgrowologist pay for the braces?" "My toothgrowologist has grown me a tooth, it's just erupted and it is already decayed". "My toothgrowologist has grown me a tooth, and it is loose and bleeding". "My toothgrowologist has grown me a tooth, and I've got foreign body sensation in my jaw. I think he's grown me someone else's tooth." |