{"id":25889,"date":"2025-04-13T06:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T06:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=25889"},"modified":"2025-04-14T08:26:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:26:06","slug":"lab-grown-human-teeth-to-fill-in-the-gaps-in-regenerative-dentistry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=25889","title":{"rendered":"Lab-grown human teeth to &#8216;fill in the gaps&#8217; in regenerative dentistry"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-0 haItSe\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-1 cjDa-dM\">1 day ago<\/p>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-12 fcCDwR\">\n<div class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-5 evAEAB\">\n<div><span class=\"sc-b42e7a8f-7 kItaYD\">Anna O&#8217;Neill<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>BBC News<!-- --><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--$!--><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Share\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 oYtVL dRvUPz dXDmtS\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Share<\/span><\/button><button disabled type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Save\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-2 sc-48d6da7e-5 sc-48d6da7e-6 iQJDhl cCYQUA kItbpD\"><span data-testid=\"button-icon-wrapper\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-0 dMpdqo\"><\/span><span data-testid=\"button-text\" aria-hidden=\"false\" class=\"sc-48d6da7e-1 eihkAj\">Save<\/span><\/button><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 ejjhCR\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3ae8ad00-116d-11f0-a3a8-cd0c869b6aeb.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"BBC A human skull and a baboon skull in a display cabinet\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><span class=\"sc-a34861b-2 hesJxn\">BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">While many species can regenerate their teeth, human beings only get one chance at growing a healthy set of adult pearly whites. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">That is, until now.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Scientists from King&#8217;s College London have managed to grow a human tooth under laboratory conditions.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">And while this breakthrough may still be a long way from filling in the gaps in anyone&#8217;s mouth, researchers say it is filling in the gaps in research.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;This idea of replacing the tooth in a biological way by regrowing it, drew me to London and to King&#8217;s,&#8221; explained the director of regenerative dentistry, Dr Ana Angelova-Volponi.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;By growing a tooth in a dish, we are really filling in the gaps of knowledge.&#8221; <!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/346ea7e0-116d-11f0-a3a8-cd0c869b6aeb.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dr Ana Angelova-Volponi, a woman with dark hair in a lab coat standing in a laboratory in front of lab equipment, she is smiling at the camera\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">A perfect smile is highly sought after, with many people now turning to braces or implants to give them a &#8220;reality TV&#8221; look.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">But implants can cause unforeseen <!-- --><a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/ce9jv1xyxm0o\" class=\"sc-c9299ecf-0 beIoQm\">problems for the patient, and the dentists looking after them.<!-- --><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;Implants require invasive surgery and good combination of implants and alveolar bone,&#8221; explained Xuechen Zhang, a final year PhD student at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral &amp; Craniofacial Sciences. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;Lab-grown teeth would naturally regenerate, integrating into the jaw as real teeth. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;They would be stronger, longer lasting, and free from rejection risks, offering a more durable and biologically compatible solution than fillings or implants.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2eaa5e30-116d-11f0-a3a8-cd0c869b6aeb.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Xuechen Zhang, who is wearing glasses and is looking into the camera from behind a microscope in a laboratory\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/beb31440-116d-11f0-b234-07dc7691c360.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A collection of cells on a screen enlarged as seen under a microscope\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">The King&#8217;s team, in collaboration with Imperial College London, have now successfully introduced a special type of material that enables cells to communicate between each other. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">This means that one cell can effectively tell another to start becoming a tooth cell, which mimics the environment of growing teeth and allows scientists to recreate the process of tooth development in the lab.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Having successfully created the environment needed to grow teeth, scientists now need to work out how to get them from the lab to a patient&#8217;s mouth.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">And that could take many more years.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/b6953fa0-116c-11f0-ac9f-c37d6fd89579.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dr Angelova-Volponi and Xuechen Zhang in white lab coats using a pipette to drop liquid on to glass test plates\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;We have different ideas to put the teeth inside the mouth. We could transplant the young tooth cells at the location of the missing tooth and let them grow inside mouth,&#8221; said Mr Zhang.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;Alternatively, we could create the whole tooth in the lab before placing it in the patient&#8217;s mouth.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">But whatever method the scientists choose, the initial process starts in the laboratory.<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jFCfG\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-a34861b-1 jxzoZC\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 cOpVbP hide-when-no-script\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/271d1450-116d-11f0-a3a8-cd0c869b6aeb.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Dr Saoirse O&#039;Toole, wearing a dental uniform, smiling at the camera from a dentist&#039;s chair\" class=\"sc-a34861b-0 efFcac\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 dlWCEZ\">\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Poor oral health can affect people&#8217;s ability to eat, speak and socialise normally, and can be linked to heart problems and infections if bacteria gets into the blood stream. <!-- --><a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/10176410#:~:text=Brush%20teeth%20to%20&#039;prevent&#039;%20heart%20disease&amp;text=People%20who%20fail%20to%20brush%20their%20teeth,research%20linking%20gum%20disease%20with%20heart%20problems.\" class=\"sc-c9299ecf-0 beIoQm\">The elderly can be particularly vulnerable.<!-- --><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">More than half of older adults who live in care homes have tooth decay, compared with 40% of over 75s who do not live in care homes, according to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence and the Social Care Institute for Excellence.<!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">Saoirse O&#8217;Toole, a clinical lecturer in prosthodontics at King&#8217;s College, said: &#8220;This new technology of regrowing teeth is very exciting and could be a game-changer for dentists. <!-- --><\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-eb7bd5f6-0 fezwLZ\">&#8220;Will it come in my lifetime of practice? Possibly. In my children&#8217;s dental lifetimes? Maybe. But in my children&#8217;s children&#8217;s lifetimes, hopefully.&#8221;<!-- --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"sc-18fde0d6-0 jVHuOl\">\n<div class=\"sc-93223220-0 sc-46222299-0 ctbOlq hmFIuq\"><span data-testid=\"links-title\" class=\"sc-46222299-2 gdGcRT\">More on this story<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1 day ago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24693,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25889"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25898,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25889\/revisions\/25898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}