Japan has developed the world's first drug to restore the growth of teeth

Miscellaneous / by admin / July 03, 2023

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A person can only have two sets of teeth in a lifetime, but Asian geneticists believe it is possible to grow a third.

A Japanese research team has made progress on developing a groundbreaking drug that could allow people to grow new teeth. Clinical trials of the drug should begin as early as July 2024. writes Mainichi Shimbun.

The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist's dream. I worked on this when I was a graduate student. I was sure that I could make it happen.

Katsu Takahashi

Principal Investigator and Head of the Department of Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Kitano Medical Research Institute Hospital in Osaka.

The medicine is intended for people who have an incomplete set of molars due to congenital factors (anodontia). These are about 1% of the population.

In his research Japanese scientists have identified a certain gene, the absence of which led to an increase in the number of teeth in mice. And the protein synthesized by this gene called USAG-1 limited the growth of teeth.

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Katsu Takahashi's research team has developed a neutralizing antibody capable of blocking the protein's function. In a 2018 experiment, mice with congenital low tooth counts were given a drug that caused them to erupt new teeth.

A new tooth in a drug-treated mouse. Photo: Katsu Takahashi, Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital

When the researchers applied the drug to ferrets, they grew an extra seventh front tooth. Since it grew between the existing ones and had the same shape, the scientists concluded that the drug causes the formation of third generation teeth.

Ferret teeth (with a new seventh tooth in the center). Photo: Katsu Takahashi, Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital

Currently, work is underway to prepare the drug for human use. As soon as it is confirmed that it has no harmful effects on the body, it will be directed to the treatment of children aged 2 to 6 years who have anodontia.

If successful, the drug could be a game-changer in the entire field of dentistry. People who cannot get their teeth fixed due to severe caries or tooth socket erosion will get a chance give up dentures, grow your own new teeth - the third in a row (after milk and indigenous).