To grow new teeth? Researchers say this is possible

If you do not feel like going to the dentist, you are not alone. Most people have concerns about visiting these specialists. One study in the Netherlands even showed that 24% of adults do not just dislike, but fear dentists. In addition, a significant number of people try to avoid visiting such clinics and go there only in cases of extreme necessity. This helps explain why 92% of adults have tooth decay in permanent teeth.

But there is good news. Recent studies show that soon we may have a chance to fill the cavity in the teeth with a healthy living tissue, which will give our permanent teeth a second chance.

How teeth grow in sharks

It may seem that, compared to other species, people are very unlucky, since we have to be content with one set of teeth for the whole adult life. Shark lovers, for example, are familiar with the fact that these animals have unlimited sets of teeth throughout their lives. Some of them have a row of teeth under the skin that are just waiting their hour to replace the fallen ones. In addition, teeth replacement occurs every three weeks. That's why experts believe that the seabed is covered with teeth of sharks.

Complex structure

But if sharks, like most reptiles and amphibians, can replace their teeth during life, then why do humans and most mammals get only two sets of teeth?

The fact is that there is a relationship between the complexity of the teeth and the number of sets that the species has. Since mammals have the ability to chew, they have complex sets of teeth of different shapes. For example, pointed fangs have only one growth, while premolars have two, and the molars have four or five. Such a complex structure of teeth depends on what the mammal feeds on. Species that eat bamboo, for example, have the most complex structure of teeth. So, the giant panda or bamboo lemur have complex back teeth with a lot of sharp tubercles that help chew and grind solid tissues. Thus, their teeth look the same even if they are not related to other mammals.

How Other Animals Restore Their Teeth

There are other interesting examples of animals with the ability to restore their teeth. Piranhas teeth are fused together, and they resemble a very sharp knife. Therefore, piranhas lose not one tooth, but the whole quadrant, and they have to rely on the other three quadrants to survive until new ones grow up.

Although mammals tend to differ in two sets of teeth - dairy and permanent, some have retained the ability to develop more teeth. Manatees, for example, have the opportunity to develop teeth in the depth of their mouths throughout their entire life.

Other animals have received only one set of teeth, but they are constantly growing. These are rodents, such as mice or rats. The secret is that they have stem cells at the base of the tooth, which contribute to the growth of dentin and enamel. This is necessary because of the solid food that they eat.

Evolution in Action

It is unlikely that people will ever develop the ability to have more than two sets of teeth, because evolution requires that these differences influence whether the offspring will survive. Nevertheless, we are still developing in this respect - experts say that fewer people now have wisdom teeth. These are the third molars that appear in early adulthood, when our jaw is already fully formed. All because we have been preparing food for a long time, and it is softer, so the need for third molars disappears. In addition, our jaw becomes less and, accordingly, there is no room for molars. That's why we see more and more people who do not have third molars. Only about 20% of the population do not have wisdom teeth.

The first attempts of scientists

Perhaps we will never have a third set of teeth, but this does not stop scientists from trying to find a way to replace the removed teeth with new ones, and also alive. The laboratory at King's College London successfully implanted bio-teeth to mice. Scientists used human gum tissue and mouse stem cells, as a result of which they were able to grow new teeth from dentin and enamel. One of the problems of using therapy in the human body is that the cultivation of stem cells takes place in vitro, but there they quickly lose their power.

Nevertheless, science in this matter does not stand still, there are new methods of growing teeth for which pulp tissue is used, for example, so it is quite possible that after a while new teeth will become available to ordinary people.