Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study • Hacker News Board

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#41

Post by donatj » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:13 AM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #31

giardini wrote: post #30

Whatever progress it may provide, I am certain that dentists and dentists' associations will slowly and surely entomb any process that reduces the sum of their individual annual incomes. I believe Adam Smith called it "the invisible hand" (w/o explicitly noting that the "invisible boot" is jammed into the "invisible customers"' collective asses).

It's so sad that most dentists optimise for billable revenue, even at the detriment of long term patient health. Fillings for example always degrade and need repairs after X years. Drilling and filling even the smallest cavity puts that teeth on a lifetime progression to bigger and bigger fillings, eventually a root canal, eventually an implant. Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can…

Novamin toothpaste has been life changing for me. Cannot recommend highly enough. A tooth that was deteriorating and the dentist wanted to cap is now fine enough for them to simply keep an eye on.

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#42

Post by King-Aaron » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:16 AM UTC

Jeff_Brown wrote: post #2

The article linked says it causes new teeth to grow in rats and ferrets, and that pugs and dogs are next. It doesn't however talk about targeting that growth to a particular place.

I'd just hope that the new teeth at least grow in the mouth

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#43

Post by logicchains » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:17 AM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #31

giardini wrote: post #30

Whatever progress it may provide, I am certain that dentists and dentists' associations will slowly and surely entomb any process that reduces the sum of their individual annual incomes. I believe Adam Smith called it "the invisible hand" (w/o explicitly noting that the "invisible boot" is jammed into the "invisible customers"' collective asses).

It's so sad that most dentists optimise for billable revenue, even at the detriment of long term patient health. Fillings for example always degrade and need repairs after X years. Drilling and filling even the smallest cavity puts that teeth on a lifetime progression to bigger and bigger fillings, eventually a root canal, eventually an implant. Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can…

>Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can even be remineralised. Yes, most dentists don't tell you that!

>Careful monitoring and patient education on the other hand can lead to permanently keeping that natural teeth, as our teeth are living and can heal.

Do you have any sources for this? I'm not disagreeing; I hope it's true.

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#44

Post by Duckey » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:19 AM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #31

giardini wrote: post #30

Whatever progress it may provide, I am certain that dentists and dentists' associations will slowly and surely entomb any process that reduces the sum of their individual annual incomes. I believe Adam Smith called it "the invisible hand" (w/o explicitly noting that the "invisible boot" is jammed into the "invisible customers"' collective asses).

It's so sad that most dentists optimise for billable revenue, even at the detriment of long term patient health. Fillings for example always degrade and need repairs after X years. Drilling and filling even the smallest cavity puts that teeth on a lifetime progression to bigger and bigger fillings, eventually a root canal, eventually an implant. Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can…

Interesting, I knew of someone who also claimed they reversed a cavity by focusing on oral care, and drinking a ton of milk.

Personally, I had a chipped tooth in my early teens and it went away after a decade. I was also drinking about a gallon of milk a day, but I don't know if that's what really fixed my tooth. I wasn't actively doing anything special with my teeth to try to fix them. I just really like milk. The problem just seemed to go away on its own.

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#45

Post by 0xcde4c3db » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:20 AM UTC

giardini wrote: post #30

Whatever progress it may provide, I am certain that dentists and dentists' associations will slowly and surely entomb any process that reduces the sum of their individual annual incomes. I believe Adam Smith called it "the invisible hand" (w/o explicitly noting that the "invisible boot" is jammed into the "invisible customers"' collective asses).

Smith actually used the tendency toward collusion within trades as an argument against certain kinds of regulation (and corporations, to boot):

"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary."

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#46

Post by mjewkes » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:21 AM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #33

nostromo wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consumers would beat a path to the door of the dentists that offered this. They would make tons of money. The dentists not offering this product would lose customers and go out of business.

I don't know. We see pharma companies killing one-time cures to not cannibalise recurring treatments, even if another company makes the recurring treatments.

Where have we seen this? Genuine question.

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#47

Post by k_sze » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:24 AM UTC

nullserver wrote: post #36

Some tumors can grow teeth. Wonder if this might be a related process. https://www.healthline.com/health/teratoma

That’s interesting. I wonder if the teeth thus formed are recognizable/classifiable as molars/incisors/canines. If so, that could shed further light on the development of the normal teeth.

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#48

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:26 AM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #31

giardini wrote: post #30

Whatever progress it may provide, I am certain that dentists and dentists' associations will slowly and surely entomb any process that reduces the sum of their individual annual incomes. I believe Adam Smith called it "the invisible hand" (w/o explicitly noting that the "invisible boot" is jammed into the "invisible customers"' collective asses).

It's so sad that most dentists optimise for billable revenue, even at the detriment of long term patient health. Fillings for example always degrade and need repairs after X years. Drilling and filling even the smallest cavity puts that teeth on a lifetime progression to bigger and bigger fillings, eventually a root canal, eventually an implant. Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can…

[deleted]

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#49

Post by tablespoon » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:29 AM UTC

logicchains wrote: post #43

dannyw wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so sad that most dentists optimise for billable revenue, even at the detriment of long term patient health. Fillings for example always degrade and need repairs after X years. Drilling and filling even the smallest cavity puts that teeth on a lifetime progression to bigger and bigger fillings, eventually a root canal, eventually an implant. Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can…

>Cavities, on the other hand can be arrested (stopped), and if small can even be remineralised. Yes, most dentists don't tell you that! >Careful monitoring and patient education on the other hand can lead to permanently keeping that natural teeth, as our teeth are living and can heal. Do you have any sources for this? I'm not disagreeing; I hope it's true.

> Do you have any sources for this? I'm not disagreeing; I hope it's true.

My dentist prescribed/sold me this for some decay: http://www.mi-paste.com/whyMIP.php

She said it works sometimes. I definitely like this conservative approach better than my last dentist's, who filled 4 teeth unnecessarily because his DIAGNOdent beeped once.

Re: Suppressing a gene by using its antibody can lead to tooth growth: animal study

#50

Post by Jarwain » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:37 AM UTC

causality0 wrote: post #24

astrea wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, not to say that evolution is perfect by any means, but I feel like genetics are very complex and reintroducing that gene could have other side effects.

It codes for one protein, and experiments have turned it on and off in other animals. Turning it off benefited humans by increasing the amount of fructose stored as fat during a time when climate change reduced the availability of fruit. In light of our ridiculous modern caloric intake, turning it back on isn't likely to lead to problems.

Do you have a source for this? Not asking out of doubt, but curiosity