Odontis

Odontis was a UK based dental company started by Professor Paul Sharpe. The company was focused on a technology of treating dental problems by using stem cells.

The idea was to use stem cells to grow new teeth that could replace missing teeth. The new tooth would be alive and nearly identical to the one that is missing.

The technology, if proved successful, has a huge potential as it will enable to maintain healthy teeth virtually during entire lifetime. The new teeth of the patient will be exactly the same as his own. This will make possible to avoid many problems that we are currently facing with artificial implants.

The technology can also bring new business opportunities for dentists and the companies that are in the field.

In 2004 the company claimed to have achieved the first promising results in experiment with a mouse. The scientists have successfully implanted stem cells into a gum of a mouse and managed to grow a new tooth. The statements have been made that the technology for growing new teeth will be available to public in near future, and as a result, were awarded five hundred thousand pounds ^[1]; however since the claim, nothing has emerged.

References

1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3679313.stm