Staff Writer
While we are accustomed to thinking that teeth only develop twice, a new medication may allow for the development of a third set.
Researchers have made substantial progress toward creating a ground-breaking medication that may one day allow teeth to regrow.
The start of clinical trials is anticipated for July of next year. By 2030, they want dentists to be able to use it.
In humans, congenital defects of the teeth afflict 1% of the world’s population. However, a medicine that could induce tooth regrowth would be a first.
A therapeutic treatment for individuals who lack a full set of adult teeth due to congenital conditions is the goal of the study, which is being conducted by the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan factors” – referring to prenatal genetic or developmental impacts.
“Because they were never developed, those with anodontia [the medical term for a complete lack of teeth] don’t have natural teeth. The syndrome frequently co-occurs with other genetic disorders such ectodermal dysplasia, which causes problems in the skin, hair, nails, teeth, and glands. Dentures and dental implants are frequent treatments, according to the Cleveland Clinic website.
The disorder, also known as dental agenesis, impairs fundamental skills like speaking, chewing, and swallowing from an early age, which can have a severe effect on development.
Since his graduate student days in the early 1990s, Dr. Katsu Takahashi, chief of the dentistry and oral surgery division at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital, has been working on the medication.
Every dentist’s ambition is to be able to grow new teeth, he told the Japanese publication The Mainichi, adding that he was sure he could “make it happen.”
According to a statement on the clinic’s website, the innovative dentistry project, funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), aims to “deliver a therapeutic drug to patients with congenital edentulism [people who are completely or partially toothless] through the cooperation of more than 10 medical institutions and research institutes nationwide.”
“We anticipate that this study will shed light on the disease’s underlying mechanisms.”
(congenital Anodontia) for you and numerous other people and help in the search for a treatment.
Targeting a gene called USAG-1, which has been discovered to restrict tooth growth in mice, the research team has already been effective in stimulating the formation of “third-generation” teeth in animal models, which come after the initial round of baby teeth and subsequently come permanent adult teeth.
Takahashi’s team stimulated tooth regrowth in mice and ferrets by creating a neutralizing antibody drug that inhibits the activity of USAG-1.
In 2021, the promising findings were published in the peer-reviewed magazine Nature, garnering the interest of the whole scientific community.
A medicine that could grow teeth would be ground-breaking because it would provide people who have lost their teeth owing to severe decay or dental illnesses an alternative choice.
The medication is now being prepared for human usage. And after that, safety According to the Mainichi, the emphasis will be on treating youngsters between the ages of 2 and 6 who exhibit anodontia symptoms.
Dr. Takahashi envisions a time when tooth-regrowth treatments are a practical third alternative to dentures and implants, giving people a chance to get their natural teeth back.
Takahashi stated, “We hope to open the door for the drug’s clinical use.”
