In a medical breakthrough that could redefine dental care, scientists at King’s College London, in partnership with Imperial College London, have successfully grown human teeth in a lab for the first time. This pioneering achievement opens the door to a future where lost teeth could be regrown biologically, rather than replaced with implants or dentures.
To make this happen, the researchers engineered an environment in which cells could communicate and trigger tooth formation, mimicking natural processes in the human body. “One cell can signal another to start forming a tooth, just like in the womb,” explained the team.
Unlike species like sharks or alligators that can regenerate teeth, humans only get two sets and losing one means turning to artificial replacements. But current dental solutions, such as implants and dentures, can be painful, invasive and often fail to fully replicate the structure or function of natural teeth.
The study aims to solve that. “Our goal is to bioengineer a full tooth by replicating the complex interaction between the dental epithelium and mesenchyme,” said the researchers. These two types of tissues must coordinate perfectly to form tooth structures that are both functional and long-lasting.
Tooth loss affects millions globally, not only impairing speech and eating but also taking a toll on appearance and mental health. A biological replacement grown from your own cells could dramatically reduce the risk of rejection and create a permanent, fully integrated solution.
Dr. Ana Angelova-Volponi, one of the key researchers, said, “This idea of regrowing a tooth biologically is what brought me to King’s. Growing a tooth in a dish is helping us fill in knowledge gaps we’ve had for decades.”
While lab-grown teeth are now a reality, the challenge remains: how to successfully transplant them into a human mouth. Xuechen Zhang, a PhD student involved in the project, shared that one method being considered is to transplant young tooth cells directly into the jaw, allowing them to grow and integrate like natural teeth.
These regenerated teeth would function like real teeth, with better durability and no foreign-body complications, unlike artificial alternatives.
Though it may take years before this innovation becomes available in clinics, the breakthrough marks the beginning of a new era in regenerative dentistry where instead of patching or replacing damaged teeth, we might soon grow them back, naturally.
