Science World-first tooth-regrowing drug will be given to humans in September

https://newatlas.com/medical/tooth-regrowing-human-trial/

(Archive)
Follow-up to another thread from last September.

The world's first human trial of a drug that can regenerate teeth will begin in a few months, less than a year on from news of its success in animals. This paves the way for the medicine to be commercially available as early as 2030.

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…

Molecular biologist and dentist Takahashi has been working on tooth regeneration since 2005, and hopes this treatment won't just be for congenital dental conditions but for anyone who has lost teeth, at any age.

If successful, this therapy could be available to patients with any permanently missing teeth within six years.

They've been testing the drug on ferrets and mice for the past year, and haven't had any significant side-effects. Now they're getting ready to start human trials.

I honestly find all of these medical advancements that have been coming out really fucking cool. First there was that sleeve that gets put around your heart and forces it to beat regularly, then there was Neuralink which lets you control computers with your mind, and now they're regrowing teeth. Of course, there's no way I'd ever actually put a chip in my brain, and I'd never be able to afford the tooth-drug unless the creators are incredibly generous, but still.

 

[Kuritan Deplorable]

That said, I'm also really surprised that they figured out teeth before baldness.

It helps that the mechanism is non-destructive. Follicles die off and unkilling things is pretty hard, but sounds like the body is always wanting to grow more teeth, and just has a red light thrown up that we're now turning off.

Hmmm. So it doesn't turn the animal into a Shark. That's good. That be insane if it just made everything into a Shark. If it did the only people who'd want this are psychos (to use the drug you need to have all your healthy teeth pulled), crackheads, and skateboarders who were on Scarred.

Depends how long the growth takes even in that situation - If its many months or years, then you're totally right. But if its a matter of weeks or a couple months, then you're in the same recovery range as a lot of other cosmetic procedures that can be otherwise debilitating. I imagine someone with fucked up teeth being willing to trade six weeks of eating out of an IV drip and quite possibly the most terrifying mornings imaginable to unfuck that place - solving chronic tooth pain alone would be worth it.

 

[browserbowser]

Side effects may include rectal dentata

 

[Rubick]

And yet they still havent got a cure for baldness.

 

[Diana Moon Glampers]

So after the first trial, they COULD test it on people who are, IDK, down on their luck and missing a few teeth because of meth mouth or homelessness or poverty.

Or they could get some 2-7 year old kids without any pre-existing health issues and inject them with a drug that makes stuff grow in their body.

Yeah, it totally makes sense to do the kids first. Wait, what?

 

[KiwiFuzz2]

My dream of having vagina dentata is within my grasp!

Trips to the gynecologist will never be the same!

 

[God of Nothing]

And yet they still havent got a cure for baldness.

Only the incisors of mice continue to grow (with them only having one set of teeth throughout their life), and ferrets grow two sets of teeth (baby and adult) and their teeth don't continue growing.

That said, I'm also really surprised that they figured out teeth before baldness.

just stab your head with a bunch of tiny needles and add coffee mix

Teeth are way more important than hair, but the depths the hair receding fall to is brutal despite not being that bad. It's like some weird form of dysmorphia but only for the head. Just listen to this zesty ass nigger.

 

[browserbowser]

Trips to the gynecologist will never be the same!

Procedurally generated pussy-teeth gynecology challenge level: impossible

 

[TrinityReformed]

This is why I think nothing will come of it, Big Dental will find some way to tank it, lest it ruin the racket they have going on.

If anything, I'd say business would be booming for them if it comes to pass. Not only would they likely be the prescribers and distributors, but also get lifetime patients.

 

[Dance For Us]

I can only hope they managed to localize it to a specific area.
Getting the treatment only to have extra teeth growing under teeth you already have,
or acquiring new wisdom teeth would scare the shit out of me.

 

[Moths]

Only the incisors of mice continue to grow (with them only having one set of teeth throughout their life), and ferrets grow two sets of teeth (baby and adult) and their teeth don't continue growing.

That said, I'm also really surprised that they figured out teeth before baldness.

Probably due to the fact there isn't a special protein blocking hair from being created; more likely baldness is due to the hair follicles just degenerating over time till they no longer grow (or being congenitally absent in some cases I guess).

It'll be interesting if it works on people that genetically don't have teef.

 

[Kiwisee]

I personally think this should win a Nobel prize. Regrowing teeth is such a game changer it might make the entire field of dentistry largely obsolete.

Maybe not obsolete, because it means that dentists will likely offer this service at a premium price.

It’s all good all around. Teeth are a lot more essential than people realize (bad dental health is linked to several health issues such as cardiac disease, for example).

 

[Professor G. Raff]

If this works out correctly, by which I mean giving it like 10 years to see if there are any horrible unseen side effects after commercial release, it's will actually be the most impactful medical breakthrough in decades. I really hope it works properly.

 

[allthewaydowntotheballbag]

God I hope this shit works, because I have the mouth of a medieval nobleman.

 

[Flamin Park]

Halloween is going to be fucking LIT this year

In real news it sounds like this only really affects people who lose/don't grow teeth due to a certain range of condition as opposed to "acme instant teeth just add water"

If I'm wrong though, looks like meth's back on the menu boys!

 

[Oilspill Battery]

This sounds way too good to be true. You just get new teeth with NO side effects? No bone spurs, no supercancer, no unatural growths, no weird angles, no nothing?

I don't believe it.

 

[Bland Crumbs]

And yet they still havent got a cure for baldness.

That one is a puzzler to me as well. It would be such a money maker.

This sounds way too good to be true. You just get new teeth with NO side effects? No bone spurs, no supercancer, no unatural growths, no weird angles, no nothing?

I don't believe it.

I assume the side effect will be extreme discomfort as the tooth grows and breaks through the gums.

 

[._.]

Maybe not obsolete. It's got to be easier and less painful to fix a cavity than pull the entire tooth out and grow a new one, right?

Yeah thinking about it, if you lose a tooth for whatever reason theyll still need to probably put in an implant or a bridge made to that specific gap rather because otherwise it would probably grow in crooked and fuck up your other teeth or something, Maybe it could work to regrow molars but a lot of people have fucked up molars from them growing in later in life anyway which is why they get taken out.

It is cool in theory though.
I wonder if maybe they could do it where they put in like a seed tooth or something and then whatever drug reacts to that to make it grow, then they put in like some dental implant guide so it grows then if it grows weird come back in and numb it or whatever and do contouring or some shit, that would be the real futuretech technocrat human machine shit.

 

[Sithis]

I'm glad at least the Japs have kept up the true spirit of science and are using it to make people's lives better. I wonder which Unit 731 file this tech came from.

 

[ZazietheBeast]

Gonna wait to see if it works correctly. Otherwise, you could wind up being the poor bastard with multiple teeth shooting out of your jaw. Very uncomfortable.

 

[Daddy's Little Kitten]

Damn, I shouldn't have spent all that money on RCTs and crowns.