Doctors will soon be able to restore teeth

What if I say we can repair teeth? This will soon become real thanks to new research showing that teeth can be regenerated. Instead of drilling holes in your teeth and putting fillings, doctors will be able to repair your teeth in the near future using bioengineering.

Stem cell stimulation

Professor Paul Sharp, a scientist from Kings College London, and his group found a way to do this in mice. Last year, they published a study that described a new approach.

The researchers wanted to increase the natural ability of the teeth to regenerate themselves by activating the stem cells that are in the dental pulp. They knew that previous studies had shown that the WNT signaling pathway was the key way to activate stem cells in many parts of the body, and they wanted to know if it works in the teeth.

The researchers believed that they could increase the activity of the cells in the teeth and increase their regenerative potential. Usually this level of regeneration is observed only in animals, such as starfish and salamanders, but the researchers wanted to see if we could benefit from their regenerative ability.

To make sure that it works, scientists drilled holes in the molars of the mice to mimic caries. They filled collagen sponges (protein found in the dentin in the teeth) with various medications that stimulated the WNT path, placed the sponges in the cavities and sealed them for 4 to 6 weeks.

After this time, the researchers saw that the teeth exposed to these substances created much more dentin than the control mice and mice that were injected with conventional dental fillers. There was a complete regeneration, and in most cases the teeth of the mice were as new.

Next step to clinical trials

The researchers tested the therapy on rats that have larger teeth than mice, which makes them the logical next step. The research team reports that the therapy worked well in rats, as in mice in the original study, but the data have not yet been published.

Researchers are now testing different substances to determine the most effective ones that stimulate WNT. They also adapt the technique to work with modern dental practitioners to inject the gel containing the medicine into the cavity of the teeth and harden it, using UV light to seal it. It is very similar to how doctors currently seal and restore teeth, so this method would be easy to include in dental practice.

Conclusion

It will take several more years before human trials begin, but the results in mice are very promising, and this process may be faster than usual, because a number of drugs have already been approved for use. This method will revolutionize dentistry and will be a big step forward for regenerative medicine in general.

Such methods can be extended to other tissues and contribute to their regeneration, so they are important in the treatment of aging and rejuvenation.