Although bones can repair themselves when damaged, teeth cannot. The inability of teeth to self-heal and regrow leads to thousands of people worldwide facing toothlessness. Japanese researchers have rolled up their sleeves to develop a drug that will grow new teeth. Here are the details…
Ready to grow new teeth with a drug?
Despite being one of the hardest materials in our body, like bones, teeth do not possess the essential abilities of self-repair or regrowth, which people greatly need. However, new developments in the scientific world suggest that we may soon leave the problem of toothlessness behind.
Japanese researchers have announced that they are working on a new drug that will allow human teeth to regrow. The first human trials are set to begin in September. Initial patients will receive the drug intravenously, and the process will be monitored.
Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry at the medical research institute at Kitano Hospital, made a statement about the drug:
“We want to do something to help patients suffering from tooth loss or deficiency. Although no permanent solution has been found to date, we believe that people’s expectations for tooth growth are high.”
The drug will be the result of years of work around an antibody that inhibits tooth growth in mice and ferrets, called Uterine Sensitization Associated Gene-1 (USAG-1).
In 2021, scientists from Kyoto University discovered an antibody that disrupts the interaction between USAG-1 and a molecule known as bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), using a technique typically employed in cancer fighting called monoclonal antibodies.
Katsu Takahashi from Kyoto University, one of the co-authors of the study, also spoke on this subject:
“We knew that suppressing USAG-1 was beneficial for tooth growth. But we didn’t know if it would be enough. Ferrets are diphyodont animals with dental structures similar to humans.”
Now, with new experiments, we will see how these drugs will work on humans. Human trials, which will begin in September, will last for 11 months on 30 men aged 30 to 64 who have at least one missing tooth.
To prove the drug’s effectiveness and safety, it will be administered intravenously. Additionally, no side effects have been observed in the animal studies conducted so far.
If the September trials yield the desired results, Kitano Hospital will apply the drug to children aged 2 to 7 with at least four missing teeth. Japanese researchers are preparing to market this drug, which will enable the regrowth of teeth, by 2030.
What do you think about this development?
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