Researchers at Kitano Hospital in Osaka have developed a drug that naturally regrows teeth. Tested on mice, clinical trials on humans will begin in the coming months.
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We could soon be done with crowns, bridges and dentures. A team of researchers from Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan identified the gene that blocks tooth regrowth and they managed to deactivate it with a drug. So it’s like if you have permanent baby teeth, they can grow back indefinitely. IThey presented the details of the clinical study which should confirm the effectiveness of this treatment in humans.
They have been working there for several years, they have already succeeded in regrowing the teeth of mice and ferrets. They are therefore moving on to the next stage, tests on humans are planned for September 2024. You know that we are unlucky, unlike sharks or crocodiles, our adult teeth do not grow back. If they are damaged, we have to tear them out and put in a prosthesis. With this type of treatment, it is our own teeth, very clean, brand new, which could naturally grow back.
This new treatment will be tested on children, between two and seven years old, suffering from a congenital disease which prevents their teeth from growing. But first, you will need to ensure that the medication poses no danger. It will therefore first be inoculated into healthy adults who are missing at least one molar, so they do not risk ending up with 33 teeth if the treatment works well. A priori, no side effects have been observed on the animals. So this will also be an opportunity to check it. This first stage should last about a year, until August 2025. Then, they will continue with tests on children. And if all goes well, the treatment could be commercialized by 2030.
The medication will not only be used to treat this congenital disease; the objective is indeed to find an alternative to prostheses when you have lost a tooth, whether after an accident or after a bad cavity. It would be great to see your own teeth grow back. This is why this research will be followed very closely. It could mark a turning point in dentistry.