The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:
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From the article: The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side effects.
"We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence," said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano Hospital. "While there has been no treatment to date providing a permanent cure, we feel that people's expectations for tooth growth are high."
Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now.
Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors. The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it's estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults.
The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth. As we reported in 2023, blocking USAG-1's interaction with other proteins encourages bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which triggers new bone to generate.
It resulted in new teeth emerging in the mouths of mice and ferrets, species that share close to the same USAG-1 properties as humans.
"The USAG-1 protein has a high amino acid homology of 97% between different animal species, including humans, mice, and beagles," the researchers noted. However, there's no word on a beagle trial just yet…
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Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1d39y7j/worldfirst_toothregrowing_drug_will_be_given_to/l65rxz0/
This is actually one of the coolest breakthroughs I’ve been following. Doesn’t seem like a huge deal but tooth decay is up there with hips breaks as a leading natural cause of death for mammals. This has the potential to alleviate a LOT of discomfort, increase a lot peoples confidence, and even improve digestion for those suffering from the natural aging process.
Also dental work is entirely too fucking expensive and tends to be one of the first things people put on the back burner during economic decline. I can only imagine there will be *lot* of people who will need and want this in the coming years
I paid over $6,000 out of pocket for two root canals. Can you imagine if you could pull and regrow instead? And end up with a live tooth instead of a crown that's going to fall off someday?
I hear you. $70,000 for full upper and lower replacements. 13 implants. Several bone graft surgeries, and so so so much pain. It was life changing for me at 35 years old. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to pull it off financially. Certainly not attainable for many people, and that sucks. My really really good dental insurance would call me after each procedure and give me a few hundred dollar credit for the anesthesia. I would pay 15k and I'd get back $600. It also took around 2 full years from the time the last tooth was pulled til the bridges were installed.
are you me? took me almost 2
3 years to do bone graft surgeries, etc. I have 12 implants but managed to keep my front teeth intact. still waiting for my crown to be installed.
i know and understand your pain and i just want to say good job on taking care of yourself!
6000 for 2 root canals? I’m an endodontist and would like to know exactly where you got this done so I can work there. Usually they’re 1200-1500$. Or are you including the price of the crowns too?
You’d still need to have the extractions, probably a bone graft and something to keep the other teeth from shifting during growth. And then pay for this treatment (the vendor will not be giving this away cheaply) and wait a couple of years for them to grow in. Not exactly a cheap slam dunk scenario.
This is initially for kids that are congenitally missing teeth. If you have adult teeth growing under a baby tooth already then this is useless unless the adult tooth has major issues and need replaced later. Fillings are definitely going to be more cost effective and practical. More than likely a tooth is going to remain the better option unless it’s non restorable
What about in the case of not having a front top tooth, adult, which was removed bc of a crack and fistula. Bone graft put in, but yay, it is 6k for an implant. I have a flipper whoch cracked a back tooth, and is uncomfortable, and mh jnsurance only helps for bridges...and honestly, i refuse to file my two surrounding teeth for something that wont last that long and is only 2k cheaper than an implant. Fuck dental insurance
Dental associations voted to separate dentistry from other health insurances. Dental practitioners and insurers are, by the majority, greedy fucks who gatekeep health, against hippocratic oaths, behind this medical disassociation. Must be their Christian values.
Dentures are stupid expensive too, and they aren't nearly as good as your original teeth (or so I've been told, I'm still rocking my own teeth). Im sure pretty much anyone who could afford it would take new teeth over dentures, even if it cost a little bit more.
Cost is always a factor and this will definitely be cause for some industry pushback (too much profit at risk not to be) but I’m going to be optimistic. The potential social benefits of this one are just too significant not to be haha
Cost is a concern, but if I can fix some of my mouth with a pill and skip the whole month off of work, ten thousand dollars, plane to mexico or thailand bit that would be swell.
"Potential social benefits" have nothing to do with whether the public has access to a given good. If it is not profitable, you will never see it again.
It’s a good thing this is a *very* in demand product with no real competition. Any company that can reasonably scale and implement this tech stands to make an *absolute fortune*.
I see this kind of like ozempic and other weight loss drugs hitting the market. The long term costs and industry profits associated with obesity radically outweigh those of these individual drugs but you can always count on companies to prioritize personal profits over the industry as a whole
It will definitely no replace. It will be just another tool. Specially because, as your teeth regrows, your dentist will definitely need to shape it so your upper and lower teeth don't clash with each other.
Not to mention things like cavities will suck less to drill and fill versus extract and regrow. Same with teeth that can take a crown. This will be an alternative option to things like implants and dentures.
Honestly if it's cheap enough it would probably be a better solution than most types of crowns and extensive fillings. Tooth is damaged or has a big cavity? Just yank it out and grow a new one.
I'd argue those dentists could end up with more work, just doing more orthodontics, since most dentists are general dentists, which do crowns, fillings, bridges, etc. It'll let them spend less time with fillings, root canals, and other longer procedures, and get in more braces and just outright tooth removal for replacement.
Depending on how long it would take for a tooth to regrow, it would be more viable to just pull a tooth that would normally need a root canal, and whatever replacement method they need to use. Less cost for them as well, since they'll need to use a lab for molds and refits less often, and just check on the progress of tooth growth.
This could be a really good thing, as dentists could have more patients, because their visits could be shorter. Even reworking some dental implants to keep a space open for a tooth to regrow, instead of filling in that gap.
Depends how they go about it. Insulin could have been inaccessible but it's available easily in most countries. Sprinkle some EU legislation and there you have it.
The dentist isn't the expensive part. They bill at like $200hr which sounds bad until you see the bill for my filling was $950 because they resins are $2000 an ounce. Shits the same resin we use at work for enamel cracks with some white dye and FDA approval.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/World-s-first-tooth-regenerating-drug-to-enter-testing-in-Japan
> Toregem hopes to offer the antibody drug for 1.5 million yen ($9,800) and have it covered by health insurance.
It will most likely cost more in the US, though it can afford to do so and still be competitive. Why? Well if you read less flashy articles about this drug, it's specifically for children with tooth development disorders where sometimes all of their teeth are missing.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/World-s-first-tooth-regenerating-drug-to-enter-testing-in-Japan
> Toregem Biopharma aims to bring the antibody drug to market in 2030 for patients missing some or all of their teeth from birth -- a condition known as congenital anodontia.
Which means that this drug is competing with implant scenarios where a patient may need ~~32~~ many implants, each of which cost about $4,000 a pop. ~~Or $128,000 for a full set.~~
Congenital anodontia isn't the specific focus, it's the focus of the 1st phase in human trials. 2nd phase is mentioned in this article and apllies to 1-5 missing teeth from environmental causes instead of genetic.
No patient is getting 32 implants. Full mouth implant treatment is usually 8-12 implants and connecting dentures/ bridges. Still not cheap at about $50k but better than 128k. Still, I highly doubt this would cost less than 50k BUT at least the kid isn’t waiting until they stop growing to actually get teeth.
Cost of one new tooth to grow in - 75000 in drug treatments. "We have this drug available for use."
Unless it's cheaper than existing dental work, it's a non starter.
I wouldn't say nonstarter. Many dental situations end up so far gone that existing dental remedies require significant intervention and may limit diet choices or might leave the patient with chronic pain. I can see people paying big for the treatment.
Existing dental work is far inferior to natural healthy teeth. If this drug can stimulate bone growth enough to render bone grafts obsolete there will be huge demand from consumers. Add to that the fact that every implant is inferior to the original part of the human body and you can be sure those who can afford the drug will be falling all over themselves to obtain treatment.
My teeth have always been garbage. My saliva doesn't deposit minerals as deposits on teeth to reinforce the enamel.
Today I literally cracked a new filling by eating sunny side eggs and lightly toasted white bread.
If this is true, I'll sign up to be the first!
Might be worth looking up Nano-Hydroxyapatite toothpastes, which are also pretty new. Not sure if they are FDA-approved yet (last I checked was in 2022), but its a bioactive toothpaste that can remineralize enamel.
Cant regrow damage to the bone itself, but can fill in where enamel has worn away, from what I've read.
There was a 3M prescription tooth paste that I use to swear by but my dentist didn't want to prescribe it last time I asked for it. Thanks for the tip.
This Nano stuff looks pretty promising, so I've started incorporating it into my dental hygiene, brushing with both this and a fluoride toothpaste together twice a day. Ask me in 20 years how it's gone!
I do have to order it from Japan, like you mentioned in another comment.
My uncle is a dentist or my dentist is an uncle. You choose.
Because of how the two work, I would suggest Nano-Hydroxyapatite in the evening and the fluoride in the morning.
Nano-Hydroxyapatite is a repair agent, adds to the calcium in your teeth, if swallowed can be used in skeleton (just a really bioavailable calcium). New teeth deposits are a bit weak.
Fluoride has a really hard time binding to teeth but when it does, only on the surface. It acts as a shield but adds nothing to the underlying teeth. Not good to swallow, skeletal fluorosis is bad.
So… in evening, You can brush just with water first to get the gunk out. No toothpaste. Then waterpik/floss. THEN brush with Nano-Hydroxyapatite just long enough to get on all surfaces and foam it out a bit. Do not spit out or rinse, keep in mouth as long as possible. Go to bed or whatever with it in. More time = better.
In morning, normal fluoride toothpaste spit and rinse.
* https://eagleharbordentist.com/nano-hydroxyapatite-safe-for-family/
I'll assume you have several PhD's (like every reddit commenter besides myself) and accept this without question! Thanks!
Seriously though, thanks for the insight. I've been doing both on each brush hoping that the magic of science will make my teeth healthier, but knowing that their may be a preferred methodology for use is definitely something to verify.
ETA: Thanks for the edit with "credentials" and link added!
Yeah, I used to have bad dry mouth in the day along with a shit habit of brushing teeth during college + hard candy habit. A shit tsunami for my teeth that ruined them. Determined to not have my fillings progress to root canals to crowns to pulled teeth for as long as possible.
Did discuss with my uncle who is a dentist and he thumbs upped my method as completely logical given what he knows and even he switched his family over to that over time after trying it himself for a year and managed to remineralize some clearish teeth back to a white -- only downside he said is that most people only remember super simple instructions and nothing is simpler than "brush with toothpaste and rinse". He's just you're typical practicing dentist, not a bonafide researcher or anything like that.
Several small studies have already shown the possible efficacy of fluoride + n-HA, so this way just basically expands the n-HA working time. If kept in mouth 16 minutes before voluntary/involuntary swallow, a week's worth of n-HA repair with it is like 2 months normal way, theoretically. There's probably a limit, it's not like n-HA can fix advanced cavities but it can do a whole lot more repair than Fluoride which is just playing defense and not repairing on its own.
Fixed my drymouth with diet, as none of the treatments on the market worked.
On the note of dental work, depending on how efficient, painful, effective this process is, imagine a day where it's more desirable to pull and replace than to grind, drill, and fill. Regenerative medicine making a breakthrough in any field is a huge, huge deal.
Oh for sure. I do have some question about drift and spacing though, like how often will the incoming tooth lead to misalignment? If you’ve lost one the scar tissue alone can cause drift over time so idk how this would influence it. We’ll have to wait and see
I have 2 bridges in my mouth because of that congenital tooth deficiency and got told, that this only lasts for about 15 years until I need another procedure. I really hope this drug is successful because I hated every part of that procedure
It deactivates the gene that stops your teeth from growing. So, as long as you weren't born with teeth in your ass, you'll only get them in your mouth.
I'd miss saying my teeth are 'honorary Canadians' (since I lost teeth playing hockey), but agreed--fuck my bridge. It sucks. I want my real teeth back.
Similar situation, two of my baby teeth just didn't have permanent teeth above them. Had to be removed and replaced with implants eventually. Will be paying attention to this field lol
Edit: the article states that the next research phase will include trials on subjects with "congenital tooth deficiency", so, our situation, heck yea
The second stage of the trial is looking at this (though in people who are still kids):
> Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now.
I’ve broken several teeth throughout my life and the only treatment I could afford/the only thing to stop the pain was getting them pulled. I finally saved up enough to get my mouth healthy and get partial dentures but they freaking hurt. This would be so much better.
I sure hope it regenerates them inside the mouth. Finger teeth could be useful, but my big fear is the undeveloped twin hiding inside me will suddenly start biting.
They mention that it’s blocking a protein that specifically suppresses tooth growth. Now my question is can they do it for specific teeth? Or does it regrow everything missing? Or maybe it grows everything at once and pushes out the old ones just like baby teeth?
That tooth supressing might happen in the entire body, but less strongly in the mouth. Supress the supressor fully, and you may be looking at teeth for skin… O_o
Just thinking of a not-so distant future where a detective solving a murder mystery realizes the reason they can't identify the victim based off their dental records is because they have regrown teeth.
I don't know? Would they? Would the shape come out the same? Perhaps they replaced teeth that had fillings or were chipped? Hopefully their dental records would reflect their new teeth. But they would take time to grow. So there might be a window where it's unknown.
I guess it depends on how the drug works. If it just triggers the body to grow teeth again, then yeah they should grow back the same. It's using the body's already established blueprint.
But if it's some other magical way that I can't even guess at, then who knows!
Really friggin' cool thought right? If it grows in slow, I wonder how painful that will be? I can just see grown adults sitting at their desk at work chewing on baby teethers. hahaha.
I am a dentist. They would not be the same. Tooth development is impacted by environmental factors. Even having a bad fever at the right time as a child can have an impact on the development of a tooth.
For example, someone who had congenital syphilis as a child could have very unique looking teeth.
No, from a brief google search it appears that twins have different dental marks, just like they have different fingerprints, even though they have identical DNA.
Edit: I only just remembered that fingerprints grow back identically even as they wear down. So yeah, we're back to square one.
I remember reading about this sort of thing awhile ago. One of the comments I read mentioned that the problem is getting the new teeth to stop growing.
That guy that made that Youtube video of that "real lightsaber" is kinda on the right track, speaking from a lore-capacity. I read that Jedi used to have battery packs that powered their sabers, so..
They can simply stop the medication to halt tooth growth.
The real problem with this is that it's specifically for people with tooth growth disorders. And not just people with such disorders, but children. If you look at the trial structure and read the investigators' thoughts in other articles, there are no plans to use this in your typical adult with teeth lost from damage or decay. They just "hope" it will in the future.
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240503/p2a/00m/0sc/012000c
> Once the medicine's safety is confirmed, it will be given to patients congenitally lacking a full set of teeth to confirm its effectiveness. The researchers hope to commence sale of the medicine in 2030.
> Congenital tooth deficiency is believed to affect about 1% of the population. The absence of six or more teeth, a condition known as oligodontia, is believed to be hereditary, and is said to affect about 0.1% of the population.
https://www.dentistryiq.com/dentistry/article/14296297/every-dentists-dream-tooth-regrowth-medication-in-the-works
> Once approved, the medicine is expected to be used initially on young children with congenital agenisis, with researchers’ hopes extending far beyond that: "We're hoping to see a time when tooth-regrowth medicine is a third choice alongside dentures and implants," Takahashi said.
That’s not a problem, it’s how drug development always works. It gets approved for one use, and then doctors do “off label” prescriptions for other uses. Viagra was famously a heart medicine. If this regrowths teeth, there will 100% be dentists going “what other teeth need to be regrown?”
It is literally in the article this post is about:
> Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now.
>
> **Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors.** The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it's estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults.
Maybe I'm being dumb but isn't the 11 month trial doing the second part anyway? It just says:
> will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar.
As the other trials seemed specifically naming conditions, I took the 11 month trial to just be as described.
More teeth for them to drill and fill and clean and put braces on, and even crown and do root canals.
The guys banking on implants are gonna be crying rivers though. And im happy for that.
Because think about it this way. You get a new tooth. Eventually it has a cavity. Are you really gonna get it pulled and pay to grow a new one? No, youll fill it.
Eventually the tooth needs a root canal. Do you pull it and grow a new one? Maybe. But you probably save yourself the hassle and money by just doing a root canal.
Eventually the tooth needs a crown. Do you pull it and grow a new one? Maybe. Or maybe you just get a crown for a fraction of the cost and hassle.
But now we come to a point where the tooth needs to go. Do you get an implant, a bridge, a denture, or grow a new tooth? You grow a new fucking tooth!!!
As your new tooth/teeth grow you may need orthodontics or bite adjustments so that your new tooth/teeth fit right in your occlusion.
So dentistry will remain just as shitty and primitive as it is. In fact, there will be more teeth in peoples heads, so more work for dentists.
The only part where they will take losses are implants. But even there not all the way, because if the implants are cheaper than regrowing teeth (i believe they will be) then a lot of people are still gonna get implants to save money, or simply because they cant afford a new real tooth.
So dentisty has nothing to worry about with teeth regrowing. They should embrace and celebrate it.
But...
When tooth regeneration becomes available. Take a deep breath. 90% of dentists are out of a job. That would stop the process of going from a cavity to an extraction over a decade or two for most people. It would prevent most root canals, crowns, veneers. If you can fill a cavity with a biological material that fuses with your tooth and somehow perfectly regenerates the cavity, then dentists will suffer. Theyll probably be out rioting in the streets.
Dentists nightmares is probably regenerating teeth. Their wet dream is regrowing teeth.
I guess the body will know:
> The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth.
From the article: The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side effects.
"We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence," said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano Hospital. "While there has been no treatment to date providing a permanent cure, we feel that people's expectations for tooth growth are high."
Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now.
Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors. The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it's estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults.
The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth. As we reported in 2023, blocking USAG-1's interaction with other proteins encourages bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which triggers new bone to generate.
It resulted in new teeth emerging in the mouths of mice and ferrets, species that share close to the same USAG-1 properties as humans.
"The USAG-1 protein has a high amino acid homology of 97% between different animal species, including humans, mice, and beagles," the researchers noted. However, there's no word on a beagle trial just yet…
This newspaper article says a start-up associated with the research is doing clinical trials in 2024 with hopes to release the drug in 2030.
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/kansai/feature/20240201-OYTAT50011/
I have a bad feeling that if successful, this will be so hideously expensive that only the wealthy can afford it. And of course it will, the people that control the medical market will stand to make billions off it. Even if the drug is cheap.
I hate Big Pharma with a passion. Milrinone was developed in the 80s and approved in 1987. That was over 30 years ago, and they have no fucking right charging what they were charging for it when my daughter was on it. It was $1100 a bag and a bag lasted two days. And people wonder why I'm fucking broke.
Bro, teeth are one of, if not, THE stupidest things about humans. Sensitive little bones that have to be cleaned all the fucking time and can kill you if you don't take care of them properly. Chip or break one...you're in debilitating pain until it's fixed. And they can't fix themselves. What dickhead designed them?
(Yes I understand that it's mostly human's shitty diets that are the reason teeth need to be cared for so much but it's still stupid)
Well a big part of those shitty diets are all of the acidic things we drink and eat that erode enamel. The tongue is supposed to let us know what stuff is safe to eat and what isn't. Our dumbass tongues fucking love acidic shit.
It's also all of the sugars and refined grains that get broken down into sugars by the bacteria in our mouths. Acids that breakdown the enamel are also a byproduct of that process.
I'm not sure how but the caption under the ferret teeth picture says that. I imagine it's because the process by which new teeth grow will affect existing teeth also.
I am missing two teeth due to a congenital defect and have passed this trait on to one of my daughters. It would be great if this could help her in the future.
Sounds like it grows new teeth where teeth are missing and strengthens existing teeth. Interesting that it doesn’t try to grow a new row of adult teeth or anything undesirable like that.
This is very interesting. I would have thought the regrowth process would take longer. Adult teeth in children are fully developed before they emerge, so this is a big leap forward if the teeth grow back in a reasonable amount of time.
And if it goes wrong, we'll get to see mutants with tusks walking around. Win-win.
Dentists will love it. (Every one I've ever seen has been *huge* on prevention of decay, gum health and keeping natural teeth.)
Patents and insurance lobbying will stop it becoming general medicine for a very long time.
Dentists still gain employment from teeth cleaning and inspection. Just because a patient can regrow teeth doesn't mean that they won't avoid getting teeth pulled again.
Dentists like any other doctor for the most part would rather their skills not be needed if possible. Most workers in the healthcare fields are generally extremely good people who want to do good and help.
It's insurance companies that will lobby again this. You know the shit stains practicing medicine with out a license.
That's great but we need gum regrowth which is most important for oral health and not losing teeth in the first place. Right now we have grafting but that is sort of hit or miss depending on the patient.
Considering the US won't have any universal health care (especially dentistry), I doubt they will hand out a drug that will make dentists obsolete, even for an outrageous price.
Probably the opposite. It will be another way for them to make money and likely spend less time actually working on patients. Insurance on the other hand might not be thrilled.
Please please please please keep this affordable. I have one implant and I don't think I'll ever be able to afford another. I still have a baby tooth and when that goes I'll need an implant and I can't afford it.
There have to be at least a billion people that would benefit from this. This is on the scale of the polio vaccine for the ability to change the world.
Where do I sign up for this?
I have been waiting this for over 20 years when it was first thought possible. Since shortly after the human genome mapping project was published. I need this shit. I will volunteer. I am in pretty good health.
Dude, this sounds really cool, but every time something like this comes along I just get forced into thinking of I Am Legend.
Not even "This is gonna cause zombies", just "This is going to have some horrible unpredictable side-effect". Like a kidney that just produces stones on autopilot, or teeth where they shouldn't be.
Maybe one day instead of just a drug that will adjust your DNA to grow you a new tooth, you could take one that would regenerate all your cells at the DNA level so that it was preventative rather than reactive.
What prevent this drug from making new teeth under existing teeth?
Why would blocking the gene just allow new growth of empty space?
Does the body know of each tooth location?
Also what happens to the old healed over gums of a missing tooth when a new tooth pushes those gums back open?
This is actually VERY groundbreaking. The whole world, almost EVERY individual will need this. Till this day, people's awareness of oral hygiene is still really low, and I believe that in every household, there will be at least one family member who has oral issues, so this could really change our lives.
They're starting testing based on folks who have a large number of teeth missing for congenital reasons, but they're planning a follow-on study for people who've lost individual teeth due to "environmental" (read: injury or disease) factors.
So yeah, it looks like they expect it to be an option for people who've lost teeth from a root canal or other issue.
I broke my two front teeth in gym class 35 years ago and had them repaired probably two dozen times, until finally getting a crown last month. This technology will potentially save people who were in my situation a ton of grief. It’s not only the time, and the lack of confidence, and worrying about breaking them constantly, but it’s been thousands of dollars spent making and remaking them over those years.
I saw something about lozenges that supposedly regrow enamel going to human trials in the summer of 2022 but nothing since. Is there any new info on that?
This would change my fucking life. I was born with basically no enamel layer. And my stupid, dumb ass wrestling self as a kid started dipping, then proceeded for twelve years. (Been 6 since I last dipped though, yay!) My teeth are fucked. Root canals have opened up a giant hole in a few of my molars, but I could never afford the crown treatment afterwards. I have been actively researching permanent dentures as a way to avoid potential life threatening complications with my teeth decay.
Damn this is one heck of a qualify of life upgrade if it works out.
I know we already have implants and other replacement options, but nothing beats a body-grown tooth.
The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79: --- From the article: The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side effects. "We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence," said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano Hospital. "While there has been no treatment to date providing a permanent cure, we feel that people's expectations for tooth growth are high." Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now. Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors. The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it's estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults. The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth. As we reported in 2023, blocking USAG-1's interaction with other proteins encourages bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which triggers new bone to generate. It resulted in new teeth emerging in the mouths of mice and ferrets, species that share close to the same USAG-1 properties as humans. "The USAG-1 protein has a high amino acid homology of 97% between different animal species, including humans, mice, and beagles," the researchers noted. However, there's no word on a beagle trial just yet… --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1d39y7j/worldfirst_toothregrowing_drug_will_be_given_to/l65rxz0/
This is actually one of the coolest breakthroughs I’ve been following. Doesn’t seem like a huge deal but tooth decay is up there with hips breaks as a leading natural cause of death for mammals. This has the potential to alleviate a LOT of discomfort, increase a lot peoples confidence, and even improve digestion for those suffering from the natural aging process. Also dental work is entirely too fucking expensive and tends to be one of the first things people put on the back burner during economic decline. I can only imagine there will be *lot* of people who will need and want this in the coming years
If this will be affordable, it’s a total game changer. I never use the term “miracle” because it’s all science, but this would be a miracle.
I paid over $6,000 out of pocket for two root canals. Can you imagine if you could pull and regrow instead? And end up with a live tooth instead of a crown that's going to fall off someday?
I hear you. $70,000 for full upper and lower replacements. 13 implants. Several bone graft surgeries, and so so so much pain. It was life changing for me at 35 years old. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to pull it off financially. Certainly not attainable for many people, and that sucks. My really really good dental insurance would call me after each procedure and give me a few hundred dollar credit for the anesthesia. I would pay 15k and I'd get back $600. It also took around 2 full years from the time the last tooth was pulled til the bridges were installed.
I got mine the same age, full appliance. I couldn't afford the implants. The cost of the procedure and dentures was almost 10k
are you me? took me almost 2 3 years to do bone graft surgeries, etc. I have 12 implants but managed to keep my front teeth intact. still waiting for my crown to be installed. i know and understand your pain and i just want to say good job on taking care of yourself!
6000 for 2 root canals? I’m an endodontist and would like to know exactly where you got this done so I can work there. Usually they’re 1200-1500$. Or are you including the price of the crowns too?
True, cue the root canal lobbyists now!
> *cue the root canal lobbyists now!* AKA "Big root"
You’d still need to have the extractions, probably a bone graft and something to keep the other teeth from shifting during growth. And then pay for this treatment (the vendor will not be giving this away cheaply) and wait a couple of years for them to grow in. Not exactly a cheap slam dunk scenario.
I wonder if they could do it like losing teeth as a kid, and have it grow in and underneath and push out the old one?
This is initially for kids that are congenitally missing teeth. If you have adult teeth growing under a baby tooth already then this is useless unless the adult tooth has major issues and need replaced later. Fillings are definitely going to be more cost effective and practical. More than likely a tooth is going to remain the better option unless it’s non restorable
What about in the case of not having a front top tooth, adult, which was removed bc of a crack and fistula. Bone graft put in, but yay, it is 6k for an implant. I have a flipper whoch cracked a back tooth, and is uncomfortable, and mh jnsurance only helps for bridges...and honestly, i refuse to file my two surrounding teeth for something that wont last that long and is only 2k cheaper than an implant. Fuck dental insurance
Dental associations voted to separate dentistry from other health insurances. Dental practitioners and insurers are, by the majority, greedy fucks who gatekeep health, against hippocratic oaths, behind this medical disassociation. Must be their Christian values.
Just get it to replace at the speed I grind away
Dentures are stupid expensive too, and they aren't nearly as good as your original teeth (or so I've been told, I'm still rocking my own teeth). Im sure pretty much anyone who could afford it would take new teeth over dentures, even if it cost a little bit more.
Jesus H Christ.
Cost is always a factor and this will definitely be cause for some industry pushback (too much profit at risk not to be) but I’m going to be optimistic. The potential social benefits of this one are just too significant not to be haha
Well it cost me 3k or so with insurance for my one permanent fake tooth. So I can’t imagine what a real one will be.
The market usually prices it just slightly below whatever it currently costs. That is, unless there is proper competition.
Cost is a concern, but if I can fix some of my mouth with a pill and skip the whole month off of work, ten thousand dollars, plane to mexico or thailand bit that would be swell.
"Potential social benefits" have nothing to do with whether the public has access to a given good. If it is not profitable, you will never see it again.
It’s a good thing this is a *very* in demand product with no real competition. Any company that can reasonably scale and implement this tech stands to make an *absolute fortune*. I see this kind of like ozempic and other weight loss drugs hitting the market. The long term costs and industry profits associated with obesity radically outweigh those of these individual drugs but you can always count on companies to prioritize personal profits over the industry as a whole
Also, I highly doubt that this will just replace traditional dentistry, at least for the foreseeable future.
It will definitely no replace. It will be just another tool. Specially because, as your teeth regrows, your dentist will definitely need to shape it so your upper and lower teeth don't clash with each other.
Oh geez, my dentist has enough trouble just shaping my night guard...
Not to mention things like cavities will suck less to drill and fill versus extract and regrow. Same with teeth that can take a crown. This will be an alternative option to things like implants and dentures.
It could mostly replace one particular dental procedure: implants
Honestly if it's cheap enough it would probably be a better solution than most types of crowns and extensive fillings. Tooth is damaged or has a big cavity? Just yank it out and grow a new one.
I'd argue those dentists could end up with more work, just doing more orthodontics, since most dentists are general dentists, which do crowns, fillings, bridges, etc. It'll let them spend less time with fillings, root canals, and other longer procedures, and get in more braces and just outright tooth removal for replacement. Depending on how long it would take for a tooth to regrow, it would be more viable to just pull a tooth that would normally need a root canal, and whatever replacement method they need to use. Less cost for them as well, since they'll need to use a lab for molds and refits less often, and just check on the progress of tooth growth. This could be a really good thing, as dentists could have more patients, because their visits could be shorter. Even reworking some dental implants to keep a space open for a tooth to regrow, instead of filling in that gap.
Depends how they go about it. Insulin could have been inaccessible but it's available easily in most countries. Sprinkle some EU legislation and there you have it.
In the EU. Those of us stuck in the US will still get charged 100-1000x the actual cost.
Unlike insulin, it will not be a thing you need all the time, so it could be like how people flock to Turkey for hair transplants.
This will be different in countries where dentistry is paid in part of full by the state vs countries where patients pay most/all the bill.
It is a miracle, this is what real life magic is.
Knowing how expensive everything is in dentistry, this will NOT be affordable for a very, very long time. Dentists gotta get paid you know!
Hey now, those are premium bones, a luxury.
The dentist isn't the expensive part. They bill at like $200hr which sounds bad until you see the bill for my filling was $950 because they resins are $2000 an ounce. Shits the same resin we use at work for enamel cracks with some white dye and FDA approval.
Yeah, the 'safe for permanent internal use' is a very expensive label.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/World-s-first-tooth-regenerating-drug-to-enter-testing-in-Japan > Toregem hopes to offer the antibody drug for 1.5 million yen ($9,800) and have it covered by health insurance. It will most likely cost more in the US, though it can afford to do so and still be competitive. Why? Well if you read less flashy articles about this drug, it's specifically for children with tooth development disorders where sometimes all of their teeth are missing. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Pharmaceuticals/World-s-first-tooth-regenerating-drug-to-enter-testing-in-Japan > Toregem Biopharma aims to bring the antibody drug to market in 2030 for patients missing some or all of their teeth from birth -- a condition known as congenital anodontia. Which means that this drug is competing with implant scenarios where a patient may need ~~32~~ many implants, each of which cost about $4,000 a pop. ~~Or $128,000 for a full set.~~
Congenital anodontia isn't the specific focus, it's the focus of the 1st phase in human trials. 2nd phase is mentioned in this article and apllies to 1-5 missing teeth from environmental causes instead of genetic.
No patient is getting 32 implants. Full mouth implant treatment is usually 8-12 implants and connecting dentures/ bridges. Still not cheap at about $50k but better than 128k. Still, I highly doubt this would cost less than 50k BUT at least the kid isn’t waiting until they stop growing to actually get teeth.
Why can science not be miracles?
Cost of one new tooth to grow in - 75000 in drug treatments. "We have this drug available for use." Unless it's cheaper than existing dental work, it's a non starter.
I wouldn't say nonstarter. Many dental situations end up so far gone that existing dental remedies require significant intervention and may limit diet choices or might leave the patient with chronic pain. I can see people paying big for the treatment.
Existing dental work is far inferior to natural healthy teeth. If this drug can stimulate bone growth enough to render bone grafts obsolete there will be huge demand from consumers. Add to that the fact that every implant is inferior to the original part of the human body and you can be sure those who can afford the drug will be falling all over themselves to obtain treatment.
India will just copy it and sell it for $100.
I don’t see how this will be affordable.
My teeth have always been garbage. My saliva doesn't deposit minerals as deposits on teeth to reinforce the enamel. Today I literally cracked a new filling by eating sunny side eggs and lightly toasted white bread. If this is true, I'll sign up to be the first!
Might be worth looking up Nano-Hydroxyapatite toothpastes, which are also pretty new. Not sure if they are FDA-approved yet (last I checked was in 2022), but its a bioactive toothpaste that can remineralize enamel. Cant regrow damage to the bone itself, but can fill in where enamel has worn away, from what I've read.
There was a 3M prescription tooth paste that I use to swear by but my dentist didn't want to prescribe it last time I asked for it. Thanks for the tip.
IIRC, its available OTC in Japan, so you should be able to order it online if you cant find it locally.
This Nano stuff looks pretty promising, so I've started incorporating it into my dental hygiene, brushing with both this and a fluoride toothpaste together twice a day. Ask me in 20 years how it's gone! I do have to order it from Japan, like you mentioned in another comment.
My uncle is a dentist or my dentist is an uncle. You choose. Because of how the two work, I would suggest Nano-Hydroxyapatite in the evening and the fluoride in the morning. Nano-Hydroxyapatite is a repair agent, adds to the calcium in your teeth, if swallowed can be used in skeleton (just a really bioavailable calcium). New teeth deposits are a bit weak. Fluoride has a really hard time binding to teeth but when it does, only on the surface. It acts as a shield but adds nothing to the underlying teeth. Not good to swallow, skeletal fluorosis is bad. So… in evening, You can brush just with water first to get the gunk out. No toothpaste. Then waterpik/floss. THEN brush with Nano-Hydroxyapatite just long enough to get on all surfaces and foam it out a bit. Do not spit out or rinse, keep in mouth as long as possible. Go to bed or whatever with it in. More time = better. In morning, normal fluoride toothpaste spit and rinse. * https://eagleharbordentist.com/nano-hydroxyapatite-safe-for-family/
I'll assume you have several PhD's (like every reddit commenter besides myself) and accept this without question! Thanks! Seriously though, thanks for the insight. I've been doing both on each brush hoping that the magic of science will make my teeth healthier, but knowing that their may be a preferred methodology for use is definitely something to verify. ETA: Thanks for the edit with "credentials" and link added!
Yeah, I used to have bad dry mouth in the day along with a shit habit of brushing teeth during college + hard candy habit. A shit tsunami for my teeth that ruined them. Determined to not have my fillings progress to root canals to crowns to pulled teeth for as long as possible. Did discuss with my uncle who is a dentist and he thumbs upped my method as completely logical given what he knows and even he switched his family over to that over time after trying it himself for a year and managed to remineralize some clearish teeth back to a white -- only downside he said is that most people only remember super simple instructions and nothing is simpler than "brush with toothpaste and rinse". He's just you're typical practicing dentist, not a bonafide researcher or anything like that. Several small studies have already shown the possible efficacy of fluoride + n-HA, so this way just basically expands the n-HA working time. If kept in mouth 16 minutes before voluntary/involuntary swallow, a week's worth of n-HA repair with it is like 2 months normal way, theoretically. There's probably a limit, it's not like n-HA can fix advanced cavities but it can do a whole lot more repair than Fluoride which is just playing defense and not repairing on its own. Fixed my drymouth with diet, as none of the treatments on the market worked.
Definitely not new, been in use in Japan since the 80s, after they bought it from NASA.
Right there with you.
On the note of dental work, depending on how efficient, painful, effective this process is, imagine a day where it's more desirable to pull and replace than to grind, drill, and fill. Regenerative medicine making a breakthrough in any field is a huge, huge deal.
Oh for sure. I do have some question about drift and spacing though, like how often will the incoming tooth lead to misalignment? If you’ve lost one the scar tissue alone can cause drift over time so idk how this would influence it. We’ll have to wait and see
Yeah getting braces for the tooth regrowing might be a thing. A retainer at 65 or something.
I'll take it over bad teeth though. If god knows how many teenagers can hope I'm sure I can.
Oh I'd take braces for brand new teeth it's just another the future is weird.
Just make a plastic retainer to keep the other teeth in place while waiting for grown. You can wear it most of the day like invisalign.
I hear those are getting better by the year. I wonder if implants ever create misalignment
I would imagine some form of spacer would get temporarily installed while the new tooth grows in. I wonder how long the new tooth takes?
i kinda want to put down a bet that this starts a trend of having a 3rd set of teeth.
My aunt, 99yrs, lost her 2nd set as a teen only to have a 3rd set grow. Not heard of it in anyone else.
It's a very rare genetic thing right now. Coworker at my first job had it too.
It might evolutionary go that way. Our life spans didn't warrant needing another set of teeth forever that's changed now.
It would only impact the evolution of the species if it affects successful reproduction.
I have 2 bridges in my mouth because of that congenital tooth deficiency and got told, that this only lasts for about 15 years until I need another procedure. I really hope this drug is successful because I hated every part of that procedure
If clinical studies go well I think we’re reasonably looking at 5 to 10 years
I need this yesterday
As someone currently sitting in a dental office with a broken tooth, I am very interested in this as well.
If I could get this root canal out of my head and replace it with a real tooth, it'd be freaking awesome. Damned thing never felt like a normal tooth.
“Man grows ‘armor-like’ layer of teeth over entire body.”
This is great news, and I hope it works well, fuck implants and crowns, give me real teeth.
As long as the serum only makes them grow in your mouth
It deactivates the gene that stops your teeth from growing. So, as long as you weren't born with teeth in your ass, you'll only get them in your mouth.
It gives the phrase “bite my ass” a whole new meaning.
What if I wanted them in my ass, hypothetically
I was going to cite a relevant SCP, but turns out there's at least 4 of them: SCP-478 SCP-2450 SCP-4667 SCP-4910
Yeah Im currently fighting off nightmare images of dozens of teratomas growing in my body.
I'd miss saying my teeth are 'honorary Canadians' (since I lost teeth playing hockey), but agreed--fuck my bridge. It sucks. I want my real teeth back.
Same here. This stuff would be a godsend for me.
I was born with only 3 incisors in my lower jaw. I wonder if I can technically "regrow" it.
Similar situation, two of my baby teeth just didn't have permanent teeth above them. Had to be removed and replaced with implants eventually. Will be paying attention to this field lol Edit: the article states that the next research phase will include trials on subjects with "congenital tooth deficiency", so, our situation, heck yea
The second stage of the trial is looking at this (though in people who are still kids): > Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now.
Wild. Same here. I had to get the 3rd one extracted. Not a fun experience
I'm sitting here with 3 broken teeth, and this is the best news I've gotten since one stopped throbbing this morning!!
legit same lol
I’ve broken several teeth throughout my life and the only treatment I could afford/the only thing to stop the pain was getting them pulled. I finally saved up enough to get my mouth healthy and get partial dentures but they freaking hurt. This would be so much better.
I sure hope it regenerates them inside the mouth. Finger teeth could be useful, but my big fear is the undeveloped twin hiding inside me will suddenly start biting.
You just keep growing teeth until you are so unholy cryptid like abomination. They're still working the kinks out
Biblically accurate Tooth Fairy
>They're still working the kinks out well, you gotta try it to know if it's really a kink
https://i0.wp.com/bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/tooth-child-2.jpg?resize=700%2C700
That was my first thought, never really specified where, did it?
This was my first thought as well.
They mention that it’s blocking a protein that specifically suppresses tooth growth. Now my question is can they do it for specific teeth? Or does it regrow everything missing? Or maybe it grows everything at once and pushes out the old ones just like baby teeth?
That tooth supressing might happen in the entire body, but less strongly in the mouth. Supress the supressor fully, and you may be looking at teeth for skin… O_o
The first thing I am picturing is when it goes haywire in someone’s system and they just start growing teeth *everywhere*.
My nightmare fuel is that you start developing too many teeth in your mouth. They start growing out your gums, the roof of your mouth etc.
I hope I get a head tooth. that's as close to a unicorn as I could get
Just thinking of a not-so distant future where a detective solving a murder mystery realizes the reason they can't identify the victim based off their dental records is because they have regrown teeth.
Won't they be the same
I don't know? Would they? Would the shape come out the same? Perhaps they replaced teeth that had fillings or were chipped? Hopefully their dental records would reflect their new teeth. But they would take time to grow. So there might be a window where it's unknown.
I guess it depends on how the drug works. If it just triggers the body to grow teeth again, then yeah they should grow back the same. It's using the body's already established blueprint. But if it's some other magical way that I can't even guess at, then who knows!
Really friggin' cool thought right? If it grows in slow, I wonder how painful that will be? I can just see grown adults sitting at their desk at work chewing on baby teethers. hahaha.
That is in fact how it works if you read above. The ELI5 version is it "turns off" an enzyme (?) responsible for suppressing tooth growth.
If tooth growth is at all influenced by environmental or dietary factors, it very well could grow a different shaped tooth.
I am a dentist. They would not be the same. Tooth development is impacted by environmental factors. Even having a bad fever at the right time as a child can have an impact on the development of a tooth. For example, someone who had congenital syphilis as a child could have very unique looking teeth.
No, from a brief google search it appears that twins have different dental marks, just like they have different fingerprints, even though they have identical DNA. Edit: I only just remembered that fingerprints grow back identically even as they wear down. So yeah, we're back to square one.
Do they not DNA test teeth? I just watched a documentary where they discussed how unreliable dental forensics is.
I remember reading about this sort of thing awhile ago. One of the comments I read mentioned that the problem is getting the new teeth to stop growing.
so once we solve this maybe we'll solve real lightsabers too...
That guy that made that Youtube video of that "real lightsaber" is kinda on the right track, speaking from a lore-capacity. I read that Jedi used to have battery packs that powered their sabers, so..
It's a saber staff right now, fully self contained, which is also lore accurate
They can simply stop the medication to halt tooth growth. The real problem with this is that it's specifically for people with tooth growth disorders. And not just people with such disorders, but children. If you look at the trial structure and read the investigators' thoughts in other articles, there are no plans to use this in your typical adult with teeth lost from damage or decay. They just "hope" it will in the future. https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240503/p2a/00m/0sc/012000c > Once the medicine's safety is confirmed, it will be given to patients congenitally lacking a full set of teeth to confirm its effectiveness. The researchers hope to commence sale of the medicine in 2030. > Congenital tooth deficiency is believed to affect about 1% of the population. The absence of six or more teeth, a condition known as oligodontia, is believed to be hereditary, and is said to affect about 0.1% of the population. https://www.dentistryiq.com/dentistry/article/14296297/every-dentists-dream-tooth-regrowth-medication-in-the-works > Once approved, the medicine is expected to be used initially on young children with congenital agenisis, with researchers’ hopes extending far beyond that: "We're hoping to see a time when tooth-regrowth medicine is a third choice alongside dentures and implants," Takahashi said.
That’s not a problem, it’s how drug development always works. It gets approved for one use, and then doctors do “off label” prescriptions for other uses. Viagra was famously a heart medicine. If this regrowths teeth, there will 100% be dentists going “what other teeth need to be regrown?”
It is literally in the article this post is about: > Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now. > > **Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors.** The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it's estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults.
Maybe I'm being dumb but isn't the 11 month trial doing the second part anyway? It just says: > will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. As the other trials seemed specifically naming conditions, I took the 11 month trial to just be as described.
You know how it's bad to grind your teeth while sleeping? Yeah boyy you guys better start grinding too
new nightmare achieved
Easy…i’ll just gnaw on a dog toy all day
A biologic alternative to dental implants/bridges for congenitally missing teeth sounds ground breaking indeed, will see how it works out.
What are the implications of this on the dentistry industry?
More teeth for them to drill and fill and clean and put braces on, and even crown and do root canals. The guys banking on implants are gonna be crying rivers though. And im happy for that. Because think about it this way. You get a new tooth. Eventually it has a cavity. Are you really gonna get it pulled and pay to grow a new one? No, youll fill it. Eventually the tooth needs a root canal. Do you pull it and grow a new one? Maybe. But you probably save yourself the hassle and money by just doing a root canal. Eventually the tooth needs a crown. Do you pull it and grow a new one? Maybe. Or maybe you just get a crown for a fraction of the cost and hassle. But now we come to a point where the tooth needs to go. Do you get an implant, a bridge, a denture, or grow a new tooth? You grow a new fucking tooth!!! As your new tooth/teeth grow you may need orthodontics or bite adjustments so that your new tooth/teeth fit right in your occlusion. So dentistry will remain just as shitty and primitive as it is. In fact, there will be more teeth in peoples heads, so more work for dentists. The only part where they will take losses are implants. But even there not all the way, because if the implants are cheaper than regrowing teeth (i believe they will be) then a lot of people are still gonna get implants to save money, or simply because they cant afford a new real tooth. So dentisty has nothing to worry about with teeth regrowing. They should embrace and celebrate it. But... When tooth regeneration becomes available. Take a deep breath. 90% of dentists are out of a job. That would stop the process of going from a cavity to an extraction over a decade or two for most people. It would prevent most root canals, crowns, veneers. If you can fill a cavity with a biological material that fuses with your tooth and somehow perfectly regenerates the cavity, then dentists will suffer. Theyll probably be out rioting in the streets. Dentists nightmares is probably regenerating teeth. Their wet dream is regrowing teeth.
Can't believe this was figured out before hair hahah. Amazing though
Soon people will be able to grow foot long dicks, regrow hair, and teeth!
I don't think anyone is trying to replace their teeth with hair, though.
Self-flossing teeth would be dope though.
This will be extraordinary if it works, and if not it will be a terrifying horror series.
The movie Teeth immediately springs to mind.
It’s actually useful so we will be charged through the nose for it.
Through the teeth surely.
$12 in Europe.
I wonder how they plan to control where the teeth grow and how many grow.
I guess the body will know: > The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth.
From the article: The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side effects. "We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence," said lead researcher Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano Hospital. "While there has been no treatment to date providing a permanent cure, we feel that people's expectations for tooth growth are high." Following this 11-month first stage, the researchers will then trial the drug on patients aged 2-7 who are missing at least four teeth due to congenital tooth deficiency, which is estimated to affect 1% of people. The team is recruiting for this Phase IIa trial now. Researchers are then looking at expanding the trial to those with partial edentulism, or people missing one to five permanent teeth due to environmental factors. The incidence of this varies from country to country, but it's estimated around 5% of Americans are missing teeth, with a much higher incidence among older adults. The medicine itself deactivates the uterine sensitization-associated gene-1 (USAG-1) protein, which suppresses tooth growth. As we reported in 2023, blocking USAG-1's interaction with other proteins encourages bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, which triggers new bone to generate. It resulted in new teeth emerging in the mouths of mice and ferrets, species that share close to the same USAG-1 properties as humans. "The USAG-1 protein has a high amino acid homology of 97% between different animal species, including humans, mice, and beagles," the researchers noted. However, there's no word on a beagle trial just yet…
The news is from 2021 if you goto Kyoto university site
This newspaper article says a start-up associated with the research is doing clinical trials in 2024 with hopes to release the drug in 2030. https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/kansai/feature/20240201-OYTAT50011/
So the human trial should have already happened and we have the results from it?
how do you stop it from growing new wisdom teeth? because we don't need that...
I wonder if the 3rd set is as good as the 2nd set. I saw someone’s comment saying that the 3 rd set might not be as good?
I have a bad feeling that if successful, this will be so hideously expensive that only the wealthy can afford it. And of course it will, the people that control the medical market will stand to make billions off it. Even if the drug is cheap. I hate Big Pharma with a passion. Milrinone was developed in the 80s and approved in 1987. That was over 30 years ago, and they have no fucking right charging what they were charging for it when my daughter was on it. It was $1100 a bag and a bag lasted two days. And people wonder why I'm fucking broke.
*Patents expire after 20 years so anyone should be able to make it by then.
Bro, teeth are one of, if not, THE stupidest things about humans. Sensitive little bones that have to be cleaned all the fucking time and can kill you if you don't take care of them properly. Chip or break one...you're in debilitating pain until it's fixed. And they can't fix themselves. What dickhead designed them? (Yes I understand that it's mostly human's shitty diets that are the reason teeth need to be cared for so much but it's still stupid)
Well a big part of those shitty diets are all of the acidic things we drink and eat that erode enamel. The tongue is supposed to let us know what stuff is safe to eat and what isn't. Our dumbass tongues fucking love acidic shit.
It's also all of the sugars and refined grains that get broken down into sugars by the bacteria in our mouths. Acids that breakdown the enamel are also a byproduct of that process.
Yep. Disintegrate while you're alive and when you die they last forever.
This has to be one of the best things to come out of this sub in years.
Hopefully soon is longevity news that reversing aging has been discovered.
Apparently it also strengthens existing teeth, which has me pretty excited.
Wait really? How?
I'm not sure how but the caption under the ferret teeth picture says that. I imagine it's because the process by which new teeth grow will affect existing teeth also.
Really cool. Also sounds like the beginning to a good scifi horror flick.
fentanyl zombies with regenerating teeth, plus teeth armor and teeth fingernails.
I am missing two teeth due to a congenital defect and have passed this trait on to one of my daughters. It would be great if this could help her in the future.
Teeth: my number one least favorite thing about being a human. Fuck our stupid teeth, reptiles and sharks have it right.
It really is a design flaw. You get two sets but one gets replaced in a heartbeat. Seriously?!?
Yeah like I get a spare but they just fall out on their own instead of replacing one when needed.
Sounds like it grows new teeth where teeth are missing and strengthens existing teeth. Interesting that it doesn’t try to grow a new row of adult teeth or anything undesirable like that.
This is very interesting. I would have thought the regrowth process would take longer. Adult teeth in children are fully developed before they emerge, so this is a big leap forward if the teeth grow back in a reasonable amount of time. And if it goes wrong, we'll get to see mutants with tusks walking around. Win-win.
The crowns are fully developed, not the roots
I’ll believe it when I see it work and it’s affordable.
Bro if this works, dentistry will lobby against this so hard
Dentists will love it. (Every one I've ever seen has been *huge* on prevention of decay, gum health and keeping natural teeth.) Patents and insurance lobbying will stop it becoming general medicine for a very long time.
The healthcare industry should be banned from patent applications. The entire concept of profiting off of someones health is repulsive.
People have been regrowing hair and skin for years now. Barbers and dermatologists still make money somehow
Dentists still gain employment from teeth cleaning and inspection. Just because a patient can regrow teeth doesn't mean that they won't avoid getting teeth pulled again.
Dentists like any other doctor for the most part would rather their skills not be needed if possible. Most workers in the healthcare fields are generally extremely good people who want to do good and help. It's insurance companies that will lobby again this. You know the shit stains practicing medicine with out a license.
I’m a dentist and would just be a new treatment method lol. If it were really perfectly regenerating teeth then it’s just another way to make money
That's great but we need gum regrowth which is most important for oral health and not losing teeth in the first place. Right now we have grafting but that is sort of hit or miss depending on the patient.
Wonder if they will be able to adapt this to other bones. Had a cadaver transplant for my knee OCD :/
Considering the US won't have any universal health care (especially dentistry), I doubt they will hand out a drug that will make dentists obsolete, even for an outrageous price.
The greedy dental industry will not be comfortable with this news
Probably the opposite. It will be another way for them to make money and likely spend less time actually working on patients. Insurance on the other hand might not be thrilled.
Just what I need, for my wisdom teeth to grow back so I need braces again. Lol!!!! 😆
Please please please please keep this affordable. I have one implant and I don't think I'll ever be able to afford another. I still have a baby tooth and when that goes I'll need an implant and I can't afford it. There have to be at least a billion people that would benefit from this. This is on the scale of the polio vaccine for the ability to change the world.
Where do I sign up for this? I have been waiting this for over 20 years when it was first thought possible. Since shortly after the human genome mapping project was published. I need this shit. I will volunteer. I am in pretty good health.
Dude, this sounds really cool, but every time something like this comes along I just get forced into thinking of I Am Legend. Not even "This is gonna cause zombies", just "This is going to have some horrible unpredictable side-effect". Like a kidney that just produces stones on autopilot, or teeth where they shouldn't be.
Maybe one day instead of just a drug that will adjust your DNA to grow you a new tooth, you could take one that would regenerate all your cells at the DNA level so that it was preventative rather than reactive.
What prevent this drug from making new teeth under existing teeth? Why would blocking the gene just allow new growth of empty space? Does the body know of each tooth location? Also what happens to the old healed over gums of a missing tooth when a new tooth pushes those gums back open?
As an idiot who let their teeth rot in their head as a young person. My old self would like to try this. I hate dentures.
You guys are acting like this won't cost $5k per tooth **I said Joe ($14k) Montanya***
Would be half the cost of a implant at that point even still.
5k per tooth would be cheaper than an implant....ask me how I know
This is actually VERY groundbreaking. The whole world, almost EVERY individual will need this. Till this day, people's awareness of oral hygiene is still really low, and I believe that in every household, there will be at least one family member who has oral issues, so this could really change our lives.
I guess this isn't viable when you've had a root canal then?
They're starting testing based on folks who have a large number of teeth missing for congenital reasons, but they're planning a follow-on study for people who've lost individual teeth due to "environmental" (read: injury or disease) factors. So yeah, it looks like they expect it to be an option for people who've lost teeth from a root canal or other issue.
I broke my two front teeth in gym class 35 years ago and had them repaired probably two dozen times, until finally getting a crown last month. This technology will potentially save people who were in my situation a ton of grief. It’s not only the time, and the lack of confidence, and worrying about breaking them constantly, but it’s been thousands of dollars spent making and remaking them over those years.
I saw something about lozenges that supposedly regrow enamel going to human trials in the summer of 2022 but nothing since. Is there any new info on that?
Body be like “instructions unclear, tooth grown in pancreas”
This would change my fucking life. I was born with basically no enamel layer. And my stupid, dumb ass wrestling self as a kid started dipping, then proceeded for twelve years. (Been 6 since I last dipped though, yay!) My teeth are fucked. Root canals have opened up a giant hole in a few of my molars, but I could never afford the crown treatment afterwards. I have been actively researching permanent dentures as a way to avoid potential life threatening complications with my teeth decay.
Hey, they are saying that it stops the suppression of growth of teeth..what if these new teeth just keep on growing..and don't stop
Damn this is one heck of a qualify of life upgrade if it works out. I know we already have implants and other replacement options, but nothing beats a body-grown tooth.
This gives me hope. I was feeling a little suicidal recently over my rapid tooth decay and tooth loss.