Stem cells could one day be used to repair tooth decay

Stem cells might one day be used to repair dental cavities or broken or cracked teeth, experiments carried out in the laboratory give hope.

It might even be possible to harness the versatility of stem cells to create new teeth that would then be implanted in the patient’s mouth. Researchers at the University of Leuven in Belgium took stem cells from the dental follicle, a connective tissue that forms around a developing tooth. They then made a three-dimensional model that can produce new dental stem cells in the laboratory. In theory, researchers might be able to harvest stem cells from teeth that have fallen out or had to be extracted, such as wisdom teeth. These cells might then be frozen for later use.

If we usually hear that stem cells might eventually create new heart or muscle cells, new neurons, even whole organs, dentistry “has not escaped this interest of scientists (in) this extraordinary potential of cells strains,” said the Vice-Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Laval University’s Faculty of Dentistry, Dr. Fatiha Chandad. The first scientific publications on this subject date from the mid-2000s, she added.

“That may be the advantage we have over other disciplines,” said Dr. Chandad. During wisdom tooth extractions, biological material is destined for waste, so it’s easier for dental scientists to go and collect these dental pulps and study them, exploit them, and therefore we have learned many, many things regarding these dental stem cells. Stem cells might one day be used to regenerate not only dental pulp and tissue, she added, but also for all “braces reconstruction”.

The challenge now is to move from theory to practice, to have laboratories to grow these cells and give them to the dentist for reimplantation to “regenerate a dental organ,” said Dr. Chandad. “What seemed like almost science fiction is now approaching reality,” she said. 3D printing, 3D cell culture, it makes (all that) applicable. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown us that science is capable of rapid progress when needed, Dr. Chandad concluded. The findings of this study were published by the scientific journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.

Photo credit: Archive.