The woman who can see through her tooth

Updated Aug. 15, 2025, 5:37 a.m. | By East Coast Radio / Skyye Ndlovu

This Canadian woman got her sight back in the most unexpected way

Medical science has done some wild things over the years.

We’ve had 3D-printed organs, bionic limbs, and even lab-grown ears. Now, we’re literally using teeth… to see.

Meet Gail Lane, a 75-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, who spent the last decade living in darkness after an autoimmune disorder left her corneas scarred.

That is until a groundbreaking “miracle” operation restored her sight by letting her see through her own tooth.

Yep. A tooth. In her eye.

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Gail lost her vision gradually, and for 10 years, her world was shaped by sounds, textures, and imagination.

However in February, she became the first Canadian to undergo osteo-odonto keratoprosthesis - or, as I like to call it, the “tooth-in-eye special” (because saying the medical name three times fast is a choking hazard).

Six months later, she’s still adjusting, but she can see colors, trees, flowers… even the wagging tail of her black Labrador, Piper.

Gail Lane and Piper — Gail Lane & Piper / @ViralBased / X

Here’s the heart-melter: Gail is now starting to see the face of her partner. The love who she met after going blind.

She’s never seen him before. Imagine falling in love without knowing someone’s smile, then one day finally seeing it.

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” she told CBC News. “I’m just looking forward to seeing what I can do, or do again and letting my brain adjust.”

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Wait… how do you see through a tooth?

Dr. Greg Moloney, the brilliant mind behind Gail’s surgery at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, explains it like this:

Step One: A tooth is removed from the patient’s mouth. (Sadly, the Tooth Fairy does not cover this one.)

Step Two: That tooth is implanted into the patient’s cheek for a few months, letting it grow a layer of sturdy connective tissue.

Step Three: The tooth is taken out again, fitted with a tiny lens, and stitched into the patient’s eye socket using that same tissue as reinforcement.

Now you might be asking “Why a tooth?”

According to Dr. Maloney, it’s strong enough to hold a plastic focusing lens and (crucially) your body won’t reject it.

Gail Lane eye — Gail Lane’s Tooth Eye / Canada CA / Facebook

Basically, we’ve gone from basic eyeglasses to literally repurposing body parts for entirely new jobs.

A tooth is now a camera mount. Skin can be grown in labs. Artificial hearts can keep people alive for years.

For Gail Lane, all of that innovation means she can now enjoy life with more color, more independence, and (fingers crossed) her own reflection in the mirror sometime soon.

“It’s been a long wait,” she says, “but well worth it.”

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