Hi Regenerating Teeth.

Hi Regenerating Teeth.

A false-color image from a scanning electron microscope depicting the scaffold seeded with cells used to assess laser treatment effects.

No more veneers? Maybe. This blog post is timely considering my sister fell last week while running and chipped her front tooth in half. 

I wish I had known to suggest that she seek laser treatment to encourage regrowth of her broken tooth (although I doubt she would have wanted to wait so long).

Research shows that lasers can help regenerate heart, skin, and nerve tissues. Low levels of laser light can trigger chemical reactions that promote wound healing, reduce inflammation, and treat pain.

New research in Science Translational Medicine shows that lasers can help regrow parts of broken teeth and potentially make fillings, crowns, and other dental necessities obsolete.

For the study, scientists at Harvard University looked at dentin, the tissue that makes up the bulk of human teeth. 

Dentin is harder than bone but softer than the enamel that coats teeth. 

The goal of the research was to encourage dental stem cells to regenerate as dentin, but instead of implanting modified dental stem cells or injecting chemicals to control dental stems cells in patients, the researchers wanted to activate proteins, known as growth factors, that are already in the body and use them to manipulate dental stem cells through the use of lasers.

Instead of using synthetic materials, such as ceramics, to repair a tooth, a laser would be shone on the tooth and soft pulp underneath (from damage). 

The laser generates chemicals known as reactive oxygen species which activate a growth factor called transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-b1) in the body. 

This molecule stimulates dental stem cells to repair teeth as well as many other tissues.

Experiments have been done on rats and adult dental stem cells extracted from human teeth. Results show that low levels of laser light activated TGF-b1 and led to the generation of dentin-forming cells. 

- "The next step is taking their work to human clinical trials."