Lab-grown teeth ‘might become an alternative to fillings’
Scientists have made a key discovery.
Adults could one day grow their own replacement teeth instead of having fillings, according to scientists at King’s College London.
In their latest study, the King’s team, in collaboration with Imperial College London, made a key discovery regarding the environment needed to grow teeth in the lab. They have now successfully introduced a special type of material that enables cells to communicate between each other.
It means that one cell can effectively ‘tell’ another to start differentiating into a tooth cell. This mimics the environment of growing teeth and allows scientists to recreate the process of tooth development in the lab.
The integration of innovative techniques holds the potential to revolutionise dental care."
Dr Ana Angelova Volponi
Xuechen Zhang, from the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, 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.”
Having successfully created the environment needed to grow teeth, scientists are now faced with the challenge of getting them from the lab to a patients’ mouths. “We have different ideas to put the teeth inside the mouth,” said Xuechen.
“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.”
The research is part of a broader effort in regenerative medicine, which aims to harness biology to repair or replace damaged body parts. Instead of relying on artificial materials like metal implants or dentures, researchers are working to grow natural replacements using stem cells and bioengineered environments.
Dr Ana Angelova Volponi, of King’s College London, and co-author of the paper published in Read the paper, published in ACS Macro Letters (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39532305/), 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.
“The work being conducted at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London exemplifies the cutting-edge research driving this transformation, highlighting our Faculty’s commitment to advancing oral health through scientific discovery.”