Regrowing of Teeth May Be Possible in Decade

The tooth fairy may soon have a new line of business. U.S. doctors said they have managed to grow living pig teeth in rats, a feat of biotechnology that experts said could spark a dental revolution. Researchers at Boston’s Forsyth Institute said their successful experiment suggests the existence of dental stem cells, which could one day allow a person to replace a lost tooth with an identical one grown from his or her own cells.

“The ability to identify, isolate and propagate dental stem cells to use in biological replacement tooth therapy has the potential to revolutionize dentistry,” said Dominick DePaola, who is president and chief executive of the institute, which focuses on oral and facial science.

The researchers said they hope that within five years they will have developed techniques to grow teeth of a specific size and shape, and that within 10 years it will be possible to regenerate human teeth.