The Japanese came up with a drug for growing human teeth

But it will become relatively affordable no earlier than in 10 years.

Japanese dentists have almost finished developing a drug that could allow people to grow new teeth. Its essence is to create antibodies to neutralize the USAG-1 protein, which limits the growth of teeth: accordingly, thanks to the drug, teeth will be able to grow without restrictions.

The author of the project, head of the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Hospital of the Medical Research Institute Kitano Katsu Takahashi, admitted that growing new teeth for a person has always been his dream. Today, this dream is closer than ever to being realized.

Human clinical trials are due to begin in July 2024. So far, experiments have only been done on animals.

An important nuance: we are not talking about an alternative to crowns for healthy people who have lost one or two teeth due to illness or injury. This medication will be for those who are missing a full set of adult teeth due to congenital factors. The use as an analogue of dentures can also be discussed, but much later.

As Moscow dentist Tigran Grigoryan explained in an interview with an MK correspondent, it is too early to talk about this innovation as really significant for medicine – at least 10 years of clinical trials must pass before the technology becomes available to patients.

“First, we need to understand the terminology. The Japanese did not come up with a “tooth growth pill”, they came up with a special drug that can neutralize the USAG-1 protein. This protein, in turn, blocks the growth of teeth. Here you need to understand: teeth do not grow in an instant, first the crown part of the tooth (capsule) is formed. Then they cut through. While some are being cut, others are germinating. The drug is aimed precisely at helping to form this capsule, the doctor explained.

Dr. Grigoryan added that there was already experience in creating such teeth, but they turned out to be ugly and shapeless. The new experiment, perhaps, will become more successful, but it will not be possible to use its results soon. And, most likely, such technology will be very expensive for patients.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29072 dated July 18, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Pill against prosthetists