Researchers Aim To Shed Light On Lab-Grown Teeth, Tissue Regeneration

The University of California – San Francisco states that “one of the enduring puzzles for stem cell researchers” is how these cells “know when it’s time for them to expand in numbers and transform into mature, adult cells in order to renew injured or aging tissue.” In an attempt to understand this “decision-making process,” the release states researchers are studying the front teeth of mice to identify the signals that trigger the teeth to continuously grow. UC San Francisco’s Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, a professor of orofacial sciences in UCSF’s School of Dentistry, explained, “Our lab’s objective is to learn the rules that let mouse incisors grow continuously to help us one day grow teeth in the lab, but also to help us identify general principles that could enable us to understand the processes of tissue renewal much more broadly.” A study published in Cell Stem Cell discusses some of their findings into this process.

Some Parents Banking Baby Teeth In Hopes Dental Stem Cells May Be Used For Future Treatments

Fox News reports that some parents are banking children’s baby teeth, hoping that some day the dental stem cells may be used to treat type 1 diabetes, neurological disorders, spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, and more. “I believe those are the kinds of applications that will be the first uses of these cells,” said Dr. Peter Verlander, chief scientific officer for Store-A-Tooth. Noting that scientists have used stem cells from umbilical cord blood and bone marrow to treat diseases, metabolic and immune disorders, and blood cancers for years, the article states “there is the potential for dental stem cells to be used in the same way,” although “researchers are only beginning to delve into the possibilities.” Dr. Jade Miller, president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, says “dental stem cells are not science fiction.” Dr. Miller adds, “I think at some point in time, we’re going to see dental stem cells used by dentists…on a daily practice.”

Researchers Find Stem Cells From Jaw Bone Can Help Make New Cartilage, Repair Joints

A release on EurekAlert stated Columbia College of Dental Medicine researchers have found that stem cells residing within the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can “make new cartilage and repair damaged joints” in animals with TMJ degeneration. “This is very exciting for the field,” said Mildred C. Embree, DMD, PhD, assistant professor of dental medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and the lead author of the study. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

        MouthHealthy.org provides information on TMJ disorders for patients.

Research Aims To Help Humans Grow New Teeth

BBC News (UK) discussed recent research that suggests someday people may be able to grow or repair their teeth, using “healthy, living tissue.” For example, the article noted a lab at King’s College London has “successfully implanted bio-teeth into mice,” while other “recent approaches have focused on finding ways to get our teeth to heal themselves.” The article stated that despite this research, preventing dental decay is still essential. “The most important ... thing for us to keep in mind in terms of prevention is water – especially fluoridated water,” said ADA spokesperson Dr. Ruchi Sahota. “Not only does the fluoride help mineralise and regenerate tooth structures that may have become infected by a cavity, the physical motion of drinking water helps to flush away food, bacteria and any debris that may be stuck in your teeth as well.”

Company Preserves Dental Stem Cells

The Northwest (IL) Herald eported that Provia Laboratories launched Store-A-Tooth in 2010, aiming to preserve stem cells in people’s teeth. According to Store-a-Tooth’s website, “the dental pulp in children’s baby and wisdom teeth provide an excellent source of mesenchymal stem cells,” which may “help generate replacement tissue and heal people’s bodies.” Store-A-Tooth offers original state preservation, which “helps maintain the tissue in its initial form,” and cultured cell preservation, which “extracts the stem cells before freezing them and then grows them in multiple storage vials.”

Stem Cell Research Aims To Help Heal Damaged Teeth

In continuing coverage, CBS News reported on its website and during a broadcast that researchers from the University of Nottingham and Harvard University’s Wyss Institute are “developing a new treatment strategy that could someday help heal a damaged tooth using the patient’s own stem cells.” The process involves “stimulating native stem cells inside teeth, triggering repair and regeneration of pulp tissues.” While “still in its early stages,” if the strategy is successful, “a treatment like this could someday offer significant benefits for millions of dental patients each year,” CBS News added.

        Digital Trends reported the “groundbreaking dental treatment” involves “a filling-like material seeded with stem cells to promote properties that encourage the growth of inner tooth pulp and dentin, structural components of a tooth.”

        HowStuffWorks added the new synthetic biomaterial is “now in preclinical trials,” and then must go through clinical trials. Adam Celiz, a Marie Curie research fellow at the University of Nottingham, said, “It will be a few years before you probably see this material on the market.”

Scientists figured out how to regenerate teeth and eliminate root canals

Root canals are always fun, right? In reality, word that you need a root canal is some of the worst news most people get at the dentist. Whenever your dentist tells you that's the next procedure you're going have to go through, two things are clear beyond the pain you're about to endure: One, that your throbbing will finally soon go away, and the second is that the tooth that's getting the root canal is dead.

However, researchers have come up with a new kind of biomaterial that not only encourages the natural regeneration of teeth, but also might eliminate root canal procedures for good.

So how do we get root canals in the first place?

It all starts with a cavity that needs to be filled with either porcelain, a tooth-colored filling material, gold or other metal alloys. But as soon as that filling fails, the pain returns. That usually means the nerve and vascularization of the tooth are infected and need to be removed. Their place is taken by a special compound that is then cemented into the tooth. All that is done via a root canal procedure. The tooth is saved, but it's no longer served by nerve or blood vessels. And over time, the tooth might be lost because of that.

Researchers from the University of Harvard and Nottingham have come up with a biomaterial for fillings that is regenerative, according to Popular Science. The material stimulates the growth of stem cells in the pulp, which could prevent further tooth decay. Because fillings wouldn't fail as often, root canal procedures could be virtually unnecessary.

The team took home the second prize in the materials category during the Royal Society of Chemistry's Emerging Technologies competition. That said, we likely still have quite a long wait until this new synthetic biomaterial becomes widely available.

(Chris Smith reports in Fox News Technology)

Some Parents Banking Baby Teeth In Hopes Dental Stem Cells May Be Used For Future Treatments

Newsday (NY) (3/23, Whitehouse) reports that some parents are banking children’s baby teeth, although “scientists are still in the process of determining how they could be used to cure diseases, says Peter Verlander, co-founder and chief scientific officer for the Massachusetts-based Store-A-Tooth.” Verlander says that researchers are currently studying how the mesenchymal stem cells in dental pulp could be used to treat type 1 diabetes, stroke, heart attack, spinal cord injury, corneal damage, and neurological diseases, among others. Dr. Paul Crespi, chief of pediatric dental medicine at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, says that he thinks tooth banking has “potential.”