New Medicine Could Make New Teeth Grow

Japanese researchers have developed a drug that could make it possible for people to grow new teeth, and they hope to have it ready for public use by 2030. The treatment focuses on a gene responsible for tooth growth and has entered clinical trials.

Dr. Katsu Takahashi, head of the dental and oral surgery department at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, has been studying the genetic principles of tooth development for years. The researchers’ latest findings are a follow-up to a study from 2021 that demonstrated how drugs targeting the protein synthesized by the USAG-1 gene can affect the number of teeth growing in animals. Dr. Takahashi and his team have now shifted their focus to humans.

The researchers have announced a clinical trial of the drug and aim to have it ready for general use in about five years.

“The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist’s dream. I have been working on this since I was a doctoral student. I was convinced I could make it happen,” says Dr. Takahashi.

“We hope to see a time when tooth regeneration medicine is a third option alongside prosthetics and implants.”

Blocking Protein

The researchers found that the USAG-1 protein could limit tooth growth in mice. Thus, ensuring that the protein was not formed could potentially stimulate tooth growth, was the conclusion drawn. The team developed a drug to block the protein and successfully induced new teeth growth in mice.

Approximately one percent of humanity suffers from anodontia, a genetic condition that prevents a full set of teeth from growing. Researchers now believe that there is hope for tooth regeneration in humans following the successful results with mice.

Dr. Takahashi states that his previous research shows that humans already have the beginnings of a third set of teeth embedded in the mouth. This is most evident in the one percent of people with hyperdontia, the growth of more than a full set of teeth. He believes that activating the third set with the right gene manipulation could promote tooth regeneration.

30,000 Teeth

Although animals such as mice and ferrets have been used in much of this research, it should be noted that other animals have interesting dental characteristics, such as elephants and sharks.

Elephants are known to typically have five sets of molars – sometimes even more – and when a tooth wears out through repeated grinding, another tooth emerges to replace it.

Sharks are well-known for their many sharp teeth, but not everyone knows that they constantly shed their teeth. The largest order, lamniform sharks, shed more than 30,000 teeth during a lifetime and replace those that fall out.