After Sharron “Kay” Thornton’s eyes went dark, it was her mouth that provided an illuminative solution. Having lost her sight nine years ago from Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare skin disorder that severely damaged her corneas, Thornton regained vision in one eye recently after doctors performed the first-ever osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis in the United States. The procedure, performed on a thousand patients in Italy, required surgeons to extract one of Thornton’s teeth—none other than the eyetooth—and use it to hold an acrylic tube in place that had been inserted into her left eye. Doctors said a human tooth was the best choice for the job in order to have something “living” inside the newly fashioned cornea. Thornton was delighted to regain her vision in one eye, allowing the 60-year-old to see seven of her grandchildren for the first time.
                                                                                                                                                        -Noel Brinkerhoff

“Eyetooth” Helps Restore Woman's Sight (by Kenny Malone, NPR)
Woman Regains Sight with Tooth-to-Eyeball Surgery (by Sandra Sobieraj Westfall, People)