Researchers have regenerated rat tooth crowns successfully, according to an article in the July issue of Journal of Dental Research.
They used techniques similar to those used in 2002 at The Forsyth Institute, Boston, to form pig teeth. In both sets of experiments, researchers seeded "adult" stem cells obtained from the animals’ tooth buds onto biodegradable polymer scaffolds. They then implanted the scaffolds in rat hosts’ abdomens. Within three to six months, small, recognizable tooth crowns formed.
"Our results show that individual tooth progenitor cells can interact on scaffolding to form tooth crowns and that it might be possible to culture enough dental stem cells to grow full-sized teeth," said lead author Dr. Monica T. Duailibi, who conducted the research at Forsyth.
The research team is working on growing new teeth in a mammalian jaw, and is beginning to work with human tooth tissues. "Within a year, we expect to determine whether the methods we use to regrow animals’ teeth will be useful in regenerating human teeth," said co-author Pamela Yelick, Ph.D. "We are very excited because mammalian systems tend to operate in similar ways. Having regenerated teeth of a second mammalian species allows us to hope for similar success with human teeth."
Researchers say if the methods prove effective, it will be at least seven years before they can be tested clinically in humans.
