New Stem Cell Technology Can Re-Grow Your Teeth Right In Their Sockets

Human molar scaffolding created by Dr. Jeremy Mao: ©Columbia University School Of Medicine

Dracula may soon get a run for his... fast-growing canines!

A pioneering technology in dental medicine that has the potential to make dentures and dental implants obsolete was announced by Columbia University Medical Center.  The new technology, created by Dr. Jeremy Mao of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at the Medical Center, homes stem cells to a 3-dimensional scaffold in the space left by the former tooth.

Dr. Mao has successful grown teeth in animal models by homing their body's stem cells to a micro-channeled scaffold in the tooth socket.  The scaffold, which is made of all natural material and integrated into surrounding tissue keeps the shape of the tooth until periodontal ligaments and new alveolar bone has grown and, finally, until the tooth itself grows orthotopically.

“A key consideration in tooth regeneration is finding a cost-effective approach that can translate into therapies for patients who cannot afford or who aren’t good candidates for dental implants,” Dr. Mao says. “Cell-homing-based tooth regeneration may provide a tangible pathway toward clinical translation.”

If you, or someone you know has dentures or has experienced tooth implantation, you know that a new technology that enables a tooth to grow back 'naturally' right in the space of the lost tooth, without misfitting, without repeated, extensive office visits, and without spending a year or more in the healing process... will be a welcomed miracle!

Columbia University School of Medicine via PopSci