Missing teeth? In the future, you might be able to grow them back.

Just ask my dentist, my mouth is a mess. When I was a kid, I was not the most diligent tooth brusher in our family and as a result I have had dental issues later in life. Over the years I've had several crowns, 2 implants and unfortunately more work needs to be done because recently I had a crown come loose and fall out of my little pumpkin head. 

So now imagine my surprise and excitement. When I read about this new development. 

According to theregister.com,
“Japanese researchers plan to begin human trials of a tooth regrowth drug this fall at Kyoto University Hospital following successful animal trials. The first stage of tests will begin in September and run through 2025 involving 30 adult males. A following round will test the drug on children between the ages of two and seven with a congenital lack of teeth.” 

I'm thinking what they really need to do is to test this out on old farts like me. I'm game, Give me a call.  

Apparently, scientists have been looking at the possibility of regrowing teeth for decades. Many animals have the ability to regrow teeth. Some researchers are first looking at alligators to see how they do it.  

If you look inside an alligator's mouth. (Very carefully.) You will see a fully grown tooth, underneath that tooth is a juvenile tooth, and underneath that juvenile tooth you would find what they call a stem cell bud that has the potential to become another new tooth? Humans have a similar structure, minus the stem cell bud. 

What the Japanese researchers have discovered is a gene called USAG-1, That gene is responsible for creating a protein that regulates the regeneration of teeth. They found that shutting that gene off causes animals to grow lost or even additional teeth. 

Animal trials through, and so now they're waiting for the final approval to do human trials. They're hoping to have something that they can put on the market by 2030. 

So, in the future, lose a tooth, take a pill. 

Tooth regrowth drug set for human trials in Japan • The Register
Anti–USAG-1 therapy for tooth regeneration through enhanced BMP signaling | Science Advances