Gene therapy is a fairly common notion for many of us, and has been since the start of the last century. It would seem then that we have been somewhat slow on the uptake when applying the theoretical notions to practical science. One would think that most educated members of society would want to see us retaining the option to treat disease, if we so choose. Early in our conception of this treatment it was viewed as Science fiction and the terrible consequences to society were outlined in books such as Huxley's 'Brave new world', where we see a society which 'grows' its progeny and treats what we see as normal human interaction as something animalistic and abhorrent. However, in recent years we have certainly begun to see what benefits a better understanding of genetics and gene therapy will have to medical science. We must try to get away from the pseudo-religious notion that we should not 'mess with God', an understanding of society which belongs to the sixteenth rather than twenty first century. The campaign of blocking progress to Stem cell research perpetrated by the Bush Administration in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries has halted the progress of understanding. This type of regressive ideological politicism is anathematic to the development of a more balanced and understanding society.In dentistry gene therapy has the potential to create vastly superior new treatments and aid in giving the best possible care to patients. For example the ability to use Stem cells in helping the growth of gum cells, hence being able to treat damaged gums will have many medical benefits not least in the fight against heart problems, where often those with Gum disease are hugely more at risk from suffering heart disease due to the migration of bacteria from the gums to the heart, carried in the blood. Other methods employed to aid in the regrowth of tissue and understanding of complex molecular synthesis will have huge benefits to everyone in the future.
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