This drug will enable dental regeneration

Japanese researchers are testing an innovative treatment aimed at regrowing teeth in adults. This project, led by the start-up Toregem Bio Pharma, is generating a lot of hope, but many obstacles remain before considering a widespread application.


In 2007, researchers in Kyoto discovered that mice with an excessive number of teeth had an inactive gene called USAG-1. Katsu Takahashi, founder of Toregem Bio Pharma, and his team then developed an antibody to inhibit this protein in animals born with missing teeth, successfully causing them to grow new teeth.

The treatment, to date, has only been tested on rodents. The first human clinical trials will start in September, in partnership with Kitano Hospital in Osaka. Thirty men, aged 30 to 64, will participate in these trials aimed at verifying the absence of toxicity of the treatment. Two groups will be formed: one will receive the drug, the other a placebo. Neither the participants nor the doctors will know who receives what. Kitano Hospital stated that this research is only targeting people suffering from congenital dental agenesis, meaning those born without certain teeth.

Dental agenesis affects between 1% and 9% of the French population. This condition includes hypodontia (absence of 1 to 5 teeth), oligodontia (absence of more than 6 teeth), and anodontia (total absence of teeth). These anomalies are often accompanied by other genetic disorders. If the first clinical trials are successful, the team plans to test the treatment on children aged 2 to 7 with the same conditions.

In the long term, Toregem Bio Pharma hopes to develop a therapy accessible to all patients, even those who have lost teeth due to accidents or diseases. Katsu Takahashi expressed his desire for dental regeneration to become an alternative to dentures and dental implants, drawing inspiration from certain animals like sharks or crocodiles, whose teeth continuously regrow.

Meanwhile, other research teams are working on different approaches. For example, Takashi Tsuji and his team are growing teeth in the laboratory before implanting them. In France, Anne Poliard and Marjolaine Gosset from the University Paris Cité are conducting research on dental regeneration from stem cells. According to Marjolaine Gosset, although the results are promising in animals, many challenges remain before human application, particularly the size and robustness of the regenerated teeth.