A surgical procedure to restore the power of sight to blind patients using their teeth is slowly gaining traction around the world, with Canada opening its first clinic for this treatment.

It’s called Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP), and it’s actually not all that new. In fact, it was pioneered more than 60 years ago in Italy by ophthalmic surgeon Benedetto Strampelli. This procedure has been carried out dozens of times in a handful of countries over the last few decades, and Canada now has three patients who’ve undergone the first part of their two-stage OOKP surgery.