On the 16th of May the ECTS held a webinar on ‘Teeth and bones: two worlds not so much apart’ as part of the ‘Bone, muscle & Beyond’ webinar series. The webinar was hosted by Prof Dr Björn Busse, University Medical Centre, Hamburg, Germany with invited talks from Prof Dr Ann Hysseune and Prof Dr P Eckhard Witten, both from Ghent University, Belgium.
We went back through history to learn about the fundamental function of calcified tissues, which is not just down to calcium but also phosphorus. Bone and dentine have very similar extracelluar matrixes, despite being part of two distinct skeletal systems: dermal (teeth aka odontodes) and endoskeleton (bone).
Taking lessons from teleost fish as models of bone and tooth, which while having a number of differences also share processes in normal and pathological conditions. In mammals, teeth are part of the ectodermal appendages complex, akin to fin rays and scales in other animals. However, humans do not regenerate their teeth unlike many other animals like crocodiles, sharks and the common laboratory model animal – the zebrafish. This is due to Wnt beta-catenin signalling that tightly regulates the production of teeth, with rare genetic disorders cause by loss of axin2 causing hypodontia and loss of APC causing hyperdontia.
In rare genetic conditions of bone, teeth are also commonly affected and can also be a ‘first clue’ for early diagnosis.
Catch up on the webinar here.