Scientists explore tooth regeneration as future of dental care

While teeth play a far greater role in overall health than many people realize, current treatments for tooth loss and decay remain largely temporary solutions. A growing number of scientists around the world are turning to regenerative medicine in an effort to replace conventional dental procedures with therapies that could help damaged teeth heal or even regrow.

Researchers are developing technologies designed to regenerate damaged tooth tissue and potentially create entirely new teeth, with an article by the BBC highlighting their approach which stands in contrast to relying on synthetic materials, fillings, or extraction.

The approach is gaining attention not only because of its innovative potential but also because of the broader impact oral health has on human well-being.

“When we first began, one thing became very clear to me,” says Ruohola-Baker, associate director of the University of Washington Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine in the United States. “People are ready for something new in dentistry.”

After years of advocating for greater attention to oral health, scientists and medical professionals increasingly recognize the connection between dental conditions and wider health problems. Bacteria associated with gum disease, for example, can raise the risk of heart disease and respiratory infections and have also been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Tooth loss is similarly associated with poorer health outcomes and earlier mortality. Beyond affecting a person’s ability to eat and chew, missing teeth can influence confidence, social interaction, and emotional well-being, creating a cycle of problems that can begin early in life.

Traditional dental repairs also have limitations. Fillings, for example, vary significantly in durability and typically last between five and 20 years. Many patients eventually require repeated procedures to address recurring problems.

These treatments primarily focus on “repairing damage, rather than restoring biological function,” says Anne George, a professor of oral biology at the University of Illinois Chicago. Instead, she argues that “regenerative dentistry can be a paradigm shift” because “it emphasises healing.”

Rebuilding teeth from within

Cavities remain one of the most common causes of tooth damage. Teeth consist of four main layers: enamel, dentine, cementum, and tooth pulp. Tooth decay begins when bacteria in dental plaque consume sugars and produce acids that gradually break down enamel, the tooth’s protective outer layer.

Once enamel is damaged, the softer dentine underneath becomes exposed and more vulnerable to decay.

George’s research focuses on the proteins responsible for the growth, mineralization, and repair of dentine. Her team has studied genes involved in dentine formation, providing new insights into how teeth naturally create and maintain this tissue.

This research could eventually lead to treatments that stimulate damaged teeth to repair cavity-related damage themselves by producing new dentine, reducing or eliminating the need for conventional fillings.

Ruohola-Baker and her team are also exploring the concept of “living fillings,” focusing particularly on tooth enamel regeneration.

Their research examined donated wisdom teeth and found that ameloblasts — the specialized cells responsible for producing enamel — disappear after a tooth emerges in the mouth, meaning they cannot naturally regenerate enamel once damage occurs.

To overcome this limitation, researchers used chemical signals to transform stem cells into ameloblasts, while other stem cells were converted into odontoblasts, the cells responsible for producing dentine.

When combined in laboratory conditions, these cells formed a tooth organoid capable of producing enamel proteins independently.

Ruohola-Baker believes that in the future these enamel proteins could be used to create new types of fillings or applied directly to damaged teeth, potentially allowing dentistry to move from repairing teeth toward helping them heal naturally.

By Nazrin Sadigova