Researchers at the University of Adelaide’s School of Dentistry have
been writing about the current and future use of epigenetics and its relation
to oral health. Certain epigenetic factors may help to determine healthy or
unhealthy states in our mouths. These factors also respond to the environment,
which in turn determines which of our genes are active. Therefore, we can use
them to influence how our genes behave. In other words, we can use these
epigenetic factors to either turn on or off a gene.
According to Professor Hughes, research in the field of dentistry
can open up a range of opportunities for treatment, prevention and diagnosis of
diseases. He also stated that “we now have the potential to develop an
epigenetic profile of a patient to provide a more personalized level of care”. The
main part of this article that I found interesting was the fact that this new
research can either help prevent or lessen the impact of oral health problems,
such as cancer.
Related
article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090223221345.htm
The Professor states that the epigenetic code is like the conductor of the whole orchestra. This statement tells me right away that this is extremely important. I'm surprised more involved and in depth research on this was not done earlier. Treatments and preventions would be coming a long way if these epigenentic factors were put to good use ASAP. I'm curious on how early on this code can be detected and if there is a certain point where it would become useless to the dental aspect. Do you know if this research is being done all around the world? Or will one country progress in the dental area faster than others in the future?
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