Some biomedical scientists have made some significant discoveries about the possibility of using stem cells to re-grow lost teeth.
This development could possibly end tooth loss.
The Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Dr. Jeremy Mao, Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine, and a professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University have developed a technique that grows the body’s stem cells in a three-dimensional scaffold made of natural materials. The process can take as little as nine weeks.
The scientists have successfully grown teeth on a small scale already.
According to the study published in The Journal of the American Dental Association, “Study researchers made three-dimensional anatomically shaped human molar scaffolds and rat incisor scaffolds.”
“In each of 22 rats, they implanted an incisor scaffold orthotopically in mandibular incisor extraction pockets and a human molar scaffold ectopically in the dorsum. They then infused the scaffolds’ microchannels with two growth factors. They also implanted growth-factor–free control scaffolds.”
Dr. Mao and his colleagues agreed, “These findings represent the first report of regeneration of anatomically shaped tooth-like structures in vivo, and by cell homing without cell delivery,”
The study was funded and supported by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research says that 3.75% of adults between the ages of 20 and 64 no longer have any teeth.
