Face of the future
ADA hosts media conference |
Posted June 9, 2005 |
By Mark Berthold New York — Saliva to detect systemic disease, stem cells taken from deciduous teeth and third molars, gene therapy to regenerate facial bone lost to cancer and a tooth whitener that actually strengthens teeth.
More than amazing, they're tantalizingly close on the horizon — and newspaper and television reporters were the guests June 8 to hear about these cutting-edge advances in dental research at the ADA-sponsored conference, "Face of the Future: The New Oral Biology."
"Each of these developments is even more impressive," stated ADA Executive Director James B. Bramson to open the national media conference, "in light of our growing understanding of the relationship between oral health and overall health."
Citing oral cancer as an example, Dr. Bramson noted that within five years of diagnosis, the disease will claim the lives of half of all patients — 8,000 mortalities yearly.
But this figure, he continued, could drop dramatically if dental patients were routinely screened for precancerous lesions.
Dr. Bramson's first panel speaker was in agreement.
"Early detection is the holy grail of diagnosing disease," said Dr. David T.W. Wong, associate dean for research and professor, division of oral biology and medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles dental school.
"Saliva," he added, "is the most logical, acceptable bodily fluid for disease diagnostics because it's easy for dentists to obtain, and patients prefer it as a non-painful, non-invasive and non-embarrassing procedure."
Dr. Wong, who also heads the UCLA dental research institute and co-directs its cancer center, was excited to inform the roomful of journalists that nanotechnology-based sensors are turning saliva diagnostics into a reality.
"Saliva-based oral cancer detection is about six months away from completing the scientific journey," he said, "and the dental industry is ready to partner with us to bring this technology to dentists and the general public."
Dr. Wong also is optimistic about convincing government decision makers and the insurance sector that routine saliva testing, during the dental visit, can help oral health providers to increase patient care and thereby improve how the overall health care dollar is spent.
"Saliva can enhance the practice of dentistry and the value of visiting the dentist," he said, "as well as reduce the health care burden on our society and positively impact the quality of life for our patients."
Trauma, oral cancer and other diseases, said panelist Dr. Paul H. Krebsbach, can require the dental patient's jawbone to be partially or completely removed — often followed by plastic or metal replacements.
But at the University of Michigan dental school, Dr. Krebsbach is working on a more natural alternative. The professor and chair of the department of biologic and materials sciences is leading a tissue engineering and regeneration training program.
"There's no doubt that we can regenerate human tissues," said Dr. Krebsbach, also head of an interdisciplinary program at Michigan for dental, medical and engineering students interested in restoring oral-craniofacial tissues.
"We created a critical-sized defect in an animal model, one that would not heal by itself within the lifetime of the animal, and developed therapies that regenerated tissues in their natural form and function," he told the audience.
But Dr. Krebsbach also pointed out that real-world scenarios for humans are more complex, and can include constant exposure to oral pathogens as well as radiation treatment for head and neck cancers.
"So, we're developing models that more realistically mimic what people might undergo," he said. "In fact, a few small clinical trials are currently under way in humans. Those dental researchers will take out adult stem cells from bone marrow and transplant them back into the patients on ‘scaffolding,' such as a sponge."
Representing the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Pamela G. Robey, Ph.D., informed the journalists that the federal government will offer major grants in 2006 to fund stem cell research — taken not from human embryos but instead from deciduous teeth, extracted third molars and jawbone. Someday, parents may be able to "save" for their children's genetic future, she said, by banking deciduous teeth similar to the way umbilical cord blood is stored. Currently storage facilities do not yet exist for this purpose.
Stem cells taken from such sources, she said, can save injured teeth and help grow jawbone — and regenerating an entire tooth may be only years away on the horizon.
"The NIDCR recognizes that dental researchers have achieved major advances in adult stem cell biology and the development of new biomaterials," said Dr. Robey, chief of the NIDCR's craniofacial and skeletal diseases branch. "We now think it's feasible to develop a blueprint for creating a new viable tooth."
The final panelist, Dr. Frederick C. Eichmiller, spoke not of coming-soon attractions in dental research but of present applications of past research. Media representatives were pleasantly surprised to learn that "amorphous calcium phosphate," a compound created at the ADA Foundation's Paffenbarger Research Center that remineralizes enamel, is currently available in several dental product formulations.
"A few professional tooth-bleaching gels, on the market right now, contain ACP," said Dr. Eichmiller, director of the ADA Foundation's Paffenbarger Research Center.
He added, "The research has been able to show that adding ACP to whitening gels will reduce tooth sensitivity — via remineralization — after bleaching. It enhances the natural healing process of saliva — both remineralize teeth. Another advantage is there's no harmful interaction between the peroxides that do the bleaching and the ACP, so the bleach is just as effective as before."
For more information, see the Face of the Future: The New Oral Biology online press kit.
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