(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim)
THE JAPANESE have developed showed a way to regrow teeth in animals. Can human teeth be far behind?
Perhaps sooner than later, maybe by 2030. If sharks are able to regrow teeth, why not humans? Why not, indeed.
In fact, the research team at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka has embarked on a human clinical trial to do just that, try to regrow teeth.
This is good news for about 1 percent of humans who have a genetic condition that prevents a full set of teeth to grow.
“The idea of growing new teeth is every dentist’s dream. I’ve been working on this since I was a graduate student. I was confident I’d be able to make it happen,” Dr. Katsu Takahashi, lead researcher and head of the hospital’s Dentistry and Oral Surgery Department told Mainichi, the Japanese newspaper. “We’re hoping to see a time when tooth regrowth medicine is a third choice alongside dentures and implants.”
By targeting the USAG-1 gene, researchers believe that they can help people without a full set of teeth regrow teeth, reports Popular Mechanics. Humans have a third set of teeth available as buds, ready to grow as needed, writer Tim Newcomb explains.
The protein synthesized by the USAG-1 gene affects the number of teeth grown in animals. The research team has developed a medication to prevent the USAG-1 protein from forming, successfully enabling new teeth in mice to regrow.
Previous research conducted by Dr. Takahashi shows that humans already have a third set of teeth exhibited by the 1 percent of humans with hyperdontia, the growing of more than a full set of teeth. Activating that third set of buds with the right gene could just do the trick of regrowing teeth.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
