• Fondots@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Teeth have always kind of struck me as something we could eventually not just replace or regrow and make as good as new, but actually replace with something better.

    Teeth are, by their nature, subject to a lot of wear and tear, corrosive environments, have a lot of nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned regularly, etc.

    How fucking cool would it be to have some sort of cyborg teeth made of some material that won’t wear down, is more corrosion resistant, stronger than your natural teeth, etc? You could use your teeth as a bottle opener with impunity, or do everything else your parents always warned you not to do with your teeth.

    I’m certainly no doctor or material scientist to suggest what the ideal tooth replacement material would be, but imagine having some kind of titanium alloy super teeth that would never wear down, corrode, or get cavities no matter what kind of neglect or abuse you subject them to, and are purposely engineered for easier flossing, may e even more efficient biting and chewing. Sure, the Jaws look isn’t everyone’s aesthetic, but some of us might consider it a worthwhile trade-off.

    In the meantime though, this is damn cool if it pans out.

    • Shard@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The problem there is that the teeth are supported by the jaw bones.

      We’ve had dental implants for the past 2 decades that are pretty indestructible as you describe. The only problem is the jaw bones you drill into aren’t that robust. Especially when you start putting multiple holes in it to hold the teeth. So the jaw bone part of the implant tends to fail after about a decade or two, even when the tooth part of it is still plenty robust.

      Which frankly is the same problem faced by all proposed cybernetic implants/augmentations. The cybernetic part can be as indestructible as you want, but the organics its attached to are comparatively fragile.

      • Gormadt
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        1 year ago

        Yeah and those implants are no joke in strength

        Trigger Warning: true story of workplace injury involving a coworker and his teeth.

        It's light on injury descriptions at least

        One of my coworkers a few months ago had a 200lbs roll of aluminum fall on his head. His implant collided with 3 teeth above it and blew those up.

        He’s mostly recovered at this point from the whole ordeal (concussion, smashed fingers, etc.) he’s just waiting on the bone grafts to heal up for the replacement teeth that are going in.

        And yes he got lucky that the roll mostly glanced off of him towards the front. Had he gotten hit straight on top of the head (or it glanced towards the back) he likely would have broken his neck or died.

        • Shard@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Jesus H. Christ.

          I’m glad your colleague got away with fairly minor injuries.

          I bet the OSHA department is having a hell of a time now.

          • Gormadt
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            1 year ago

            Honestly blew my mind that he walking the next time I saw him

            Oh yeah our safety department threw a fit especially when they found out that he was not wearing a hardhat

    • Wilzax@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Man’s out here with the monocrystalline-corundum-coated titanium based tooth implants