Viewpoints Explained: What If We Never Needed Dentures Or Implants Again?

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For so many people, losing a tooth means many trips to the dentist, potential pain, trouble eating, reduced confidence and other issues. But what if your body could regrow a new tooth? This possibility is now being tested in human patients in japan.

The trial medicine targets a protein called USAG-1, which normally signals the body to shut down tooth development. By blocking it, researchers hope to “wake” dormant tooth buds and trigger a new tooth to grow. Early animal studies found that a single antibody dose could produce a whole tooth in mice and showed promise in ferrets, which have dental patterns similar to humans.

The first trial, which began last September includes thirty adult men, ages 30 to 64, each missing at least one tooth. Over eleven months, these men received the drug intravenously while researchers tracked safety and effectiveness. The next step in the clinical trial plans to test children ages 2 to 7 who are born with a developmental condition that causes multiple missing teeth.

A Japanese startup is the driver behind this lengthy trial. If all goes well, the company hopes to bring a treatment to market by the year 2030. This could be a viable option for about 7 percent of adults worldwide who are suffering from tooth loss. In people over 60, this number jumps to 1 in 4 people. For now, it’s too soon to know if this dental treatment will be a lasting fix. But if the trial succeeds, it could mark a turning point in how we think about aging, repair, and what our bodies are capable of.

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