A team of researchers in Japan and the UK has made significant strides in growing human teeth in labs, with potential to be offered to the public as early as 2030. The breakthrough is based on understanding how humans used to grow a third set of teeth beyond baby and adult teeth.
The King’s College London team discovered that a protein called USAG-1 limits tooth growth, which they plan to block with an antibody medicine. Their tests were successful on mice in 2018, and current trials are promising early results.
To mimic how teeth grow in the body, researchers created a material that allows cells to communicate as naturally as they do in the human body. This led to their lab-grown tooth experiment earlier this year. The new approach would allow for natural regeneration, with the lab-grown teeth integrating into the jaw like real teeth.
According to Xuechen Zhang, a PhD student at King’s College London, lab-grown teeth could be stronger, longer-lasting, and free from rejection risks compared to fillings or implants. The next step is figuring out how to place the tooth in the mouth, with possible methods including transplanting young tooth cells into the missing location or creating the whole tooth in the lab before placing it in the patient’s mouth.
The researchers aim to start trials on children with anodontia, a hereditary condition affecting around 0.1% of people, who struggle with wide gaps between teeth and difficulty chewing food. If successful, this could revolutionize dentistry and offer patients a more durable solution than current dental implants and fillings.
Source: https://www.dentistryiq.com/dentistry/research-and-news/news/55308893/regrowing-teeth-in-humans-closer-than-we-think