Believe it or not, scientist have found a way to regrow teeth using stem cells and a laser.
Like something out of a science fiction movie, scientists might have found a single solution to all our dental problems; they know how to regrow teeth naturally using stem cells.
Visiting the dentist is usually a painful event, there’s a lot of drilling, needles and filing, which can be very uncomfortable. If you’re looking to have new teeth put in, then you need an implant, which is a very time consuming and painful procedure. But there might be another way.
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A group of researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute have successfully used a low-power laser to stimulate stem cells to grow into dentin, the layer of living tissue just under the enamel. The complete study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
With this new method, the researchers hope to someday be able to heal wounded and broken teeth without the need of painful or invasive surgery.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cell, meaning that they have not developed into a certain type of cell yet. They rely on proteins known as growth factors to stimulate them into developing to their final and true state.
Usually, it takes a long time to grow tissue from stem cells in a laboratory, but not with the method used by the scientists at the Wyss Institute.
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During the study, they drilled holes into the molars of rats to stimulate tooth decay. Then, they placed adult stem cells into the holes and used a non-ionizing, low-power laser to stimulate the growth factor proteins.
After having sealed the teeth with temporary caps over the period of 12 weeks, the scientist found that the dentin had started to grow back.
However, it will be many years before you can pass by your local dentist to have your teeth restored. But the general mechanics of the method makes it easy for practicing dentists to learn and use, meaning that any dentist can start using it once the method is approved for humans.
