A group of Japanese researchers are currently seeking a way to regenerate and regrow teeth for patients who have lost them or have a congenital condition. According to the Mainichi Daily News Site, their medical trial is set to begin in 2024. The new medication is now in the works and the advancement should be completed by 2030. It is being conducted to primarily help adults recover teeth they may have lost over time.
The main researcher in this project, Katsu Takahashi, is the head of the dentistry and oral surgery department, at Kitano Hospital of the Medical Research Institute in Osaka. Regarding the current studies and explorations to elaborate the medicine, he stated, “the idea of growing new teeth is every dentist’s dream, I was confident I would be able to make it happen.”
To develop the drug, Takashi stated that he has conducted ” experiments on animals.” Reportedly, the growth of some third-generation teeth was observed. This means, that there are high chances for these species, and potentially humans, to grow teeth at an adult age. These tests have been conducted on a number of mice after, and the results found that some specific species had more teeth than others, but were able to grow teeth with an antibiotic that blocks the USAG-1 gene.
Basically, Takahashi’s research group destined their efforts on the study of the USAG-1 component, which does not permit new teeth growth. Thanks to this, they have been developing an antibiotic that is able to suppress the USAG-1 gene. The scientists have been working on a “neutralizing antibody medicine” and they tested it trial in mice, and ferrets. Fortunately, all of these species were all able to grow new teeth.