HERE’S a remarkable news on eye surgery in which surgeons implant part of a tooth in a patient’s eye to restore vision.
It is a procedure that sounds like science fiction but has been saving sight for decades.
For most of us, teeth and eyes occupy very different worlds — one in the mouth and the other at the center of how we see. Yet in a rare and astonishing medical procedure known as osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP), surgeons actually use a patient’s own tooth to help restore vision in cases of severe blindness.
While the phrase “implanting teeth in eyes” might seem sensational, it describes a very real and highly specialized surgery developed to help people who have lost their sight due to irreparable damage to their corneas.
The concept behind OOKP was pioneered in the early 1960s by Italian ophthalmic surgeon Professor Benedetto Strampelli and later refined by other specialists. It was designed for patients whose corneas — the transparent, outermost layer of the eye — are so scarred or damaged that traditional corneal transplants won’t work.
Examples include severe chemical burns, autoimmune conditions such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and other diseases where the eye’s surface is hostile to grafts.
The idea is to create a biological support for an artificial cornea using something the human body already recognizes: a tooth. Teeth, composed of dentine and supported by a bit of surrounding bone, can be shaped into a sturdy, living framework that the body is unlikely to reject.
By combining this natural material with a tiny plastic optical cylinder (acting as a lens), surgeons can fashion a new “window” through which light can enter the eye.
OOKP is not a single operation but a two-stage process carried out over several months:
Harvest and Preparation: A healthy tooth — often a canine — is extracted along with its surrounding bone. Doctors then sculpt it into a rectangular lamina and drill a hole through its center to hold a plastic optical cylinder. This tooth-bone-lens composite is temporarily implanted into the patient’s cheek. This allows blood vessels and soft tissue to grow around it, which is essential for its long-term survival when transplanted later.
Meanwhile, surgeons prepare the eye by removing scarred corneal tissue and lining it with a graft from inside the cheek.
Final Implantation: After a few months, once the tooth lamina has developed a healthy tissue covering, it is removed from the cheek and implanted into the eye.
The patient’s own oral mucosa (inner cheek tissue) is placed over the implant, leaving the central optical cylinder exposed so that light can enter the eye.
Because the tooth and tissue come from the patient’s own body, the risk of rejection is substantially lower than with synthetic implants. This makes OOKP especially valuable for patients for whom other options have failed.
The outcomes can be profound. Many patients who were completely blind due to corneal disease regain meaningful vision — enough to read large print, recognize faces, or even drive in some cases.
Long-term studies show that the implant can remain stable and functional for decades, offering a lasting restoration of sight when other treatments fall short.
While rare and complex — requiring intricate surgical skills and lifelong follow-up care — OOKP represents one of the most extraordinary intersections of dentistry and ophthalmology.
What once seemed like a bizarre idea has become a lifeline for patients with no other hope of seeing again, proving that sometimes nature’s own materials offer the best solutions in medicine.
***
Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
***
Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com./PN
