No, this is not some made up internet story, it is legit. There is a procedure called osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis (OOKP) that is being performed for people who are blind in both eyes due to corneal disease and have exhausted all other options. Other than corneal issues the patient must have good general eye health as well as good general dental health.
Basically, the tooth is being used as a support structure to create an artificial cornea that will allow one to see again. First a dentist will extract one of the patient’s teeth and shape it into a rectangle, drill a hole and pop in a plastic optical lens. After this is done the modified tooth is implanted into that patient’s cheek for about three months so it could gain a layer of connective or supporting structure so the ophthalmologist surgeon can have something to be able to use to eventually suture it in place. The eye at this time is also prepared by removing its top surface and a small graft from the patients check is placed. It is left for a few months to mature.
The second surgery involves removing the damaged iris and lens and the modified tooth is then removed from the cheek and sewn into place in the eye with a small hole within the graft so hopefully the patient can see again.
This procedure has been done in at least ten countries. A study done in Italy has demonstrated that 27 years after the procedure, 94% of these patients still had vision. The teeth most often used are our upper or lower canines. The key to this procedure is the fact the dentin part of teeth is the ideal tissue to house the artificial plastic lens without rejecting it.
