A person can only have two sets of teeth in a lifetime, but Asian geneticists believe it’s possible for a third to hatch.

A Japanese research team has made progress in developing a breakthrough drug that could allow people to grow new teeth. He writes that clinical trials of the drug should begin in July 2024. Mainichi Shimbun.

“The idea of ​​new tooth augmentation is every dentist’s dream. I worked on it when I was a graduate student. I was confident I could do it,” says Katsu Takahashi, principal investigator and head of the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery at Kitano Medical Research Institute Hospital in Osaka.

Medicines are designed for people who have a missing set of molars due to congenital factors (anodontia). About 1% of the population.

In their study, Japanese scientists discovered a specific gene whose absence causes an increase in the number of teeth in mice. And the protein USAG-1 synthesized by this gene limited the growth of teeth.

Katsu Takahashi’s research group has developed a neutralizing antibody that can block protein function. In experiments in 2018, mice with few congenital teeth were given the drug, resulting in new teeth.

When the researchers administered the drug to the ferrets, they removed an additional seventh front tooth. Since it grew among the existing ones and had the same shape, the scientists concluded that the drug caused the formation of third-generation teeth.

Currently, studies are underway to prepare the drug for human use. Treatment of children with anodontia aged 2 to 6 years will be targeted as soon as it is proven that there is no harmful effect on the body.

If successful, the drug could change the game for the entire field of dentistry. People who are unable to heal their teeth due to severe cavities or erosion of their dental sockets will have a chance to leave dentures by removing their third largest (after milk and molars) new teeth.