Future Advancements

magine visiting your dentist one day and having your own teeth regenerated using your own DNA, instead of dentures applied.

Such a future is not far away, predicts Harold C. Slavkin, D.D.S., dean at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. Slavkin, who made a presentation about gene therapy at a recent American Dental Association meeting, predicts that dentistry will rapidly evolve from depending on mechanical and surgical solutions for treating disease, to "bio" solutions in which conditions are treated at a molecular level.

For example, instead of using fillings to repair cavities, a dentist will someday modify the specific bacteria in a person that cause dental disease in the first place. A simple swab from inside the mouth will provide enough DNA to develop individualized dental treatments in the future.

Go here to read more about this story on the American Dental Association Web site.

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