Scientists have successfully created the environment needed to grow teeth, marking a major breakthrough in their research.
The King’s College London (KCL) researchers believe the breakthrough could lead to patients regrowing teeth as an alternative to fillings or implants in the future. According to the team, lab-grown teeth would be a stronger, more durable and more biologically compatible solution to missing teeth.
In the latest study, the KCL researchers successfully introduced a material that enables cells to communicate, meaning one cell can tell another to differentiate into a tooth cell. As a result, this mimics the environment of growing teeth, allowing the researchers to recreate the process in a lab.
Xuechen Zhang is a PHD student from the faculty of dentistry, oral and craniofacial sciences at KCL. He said: ‘We developed this material in collaboration with Imperial College to replicate the environment around the cells in the body, known as the matrix. This meant that when we introduced the cultured cells, they were able to send signals to each other to start the tooth formation process.
‘Previous attempts had failed, as all the signals were sent in one go. This new material releases signals slowly over time, replicating what happens in the body.’
Lab-grown teeth could ‘revolutionise dental care’
Having successfully created the environment necessary for lab-grown teeth, the researchers are now tasked with finding out how to move the teeth into the mouth.
Zhang said: ‘We have different ideas to put the teeth inside the mouth. We could transplant the young tooth cells at the location of the missing tooth and let them grow inside mouth. Alternatively, we could create the whole tooth in the lab before placing it in the patient’s mouth.
‘For both options, we need to start the very early tooth development process in the lab.’
This study comes under KCL’s wider regenerative medicine research in which scientists are exploring natural replacements, using stem cells and bioengineered environments, in place of artificial materials.
Dr Ana Angelova Volponi, the corresponding author of the study, said: ‘As the field progresses, the integration of such innovative techniques holds the potential to revolutionise dental care, offering sustainable and effective solutions for tooth repair and regeneration.’
She added that this study ‘exemplifies the cutting-edge research driving this transformation, highlighting our faculty’s commitment to advancing oral health through scientific discovery.’
You can read the full study here.
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