DT News - UK - King’s proves method to help teeth repair themselves

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 10 January 2017

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LONDON, UK: Scientists from the Dental Institute at King’s College London have reported on a new approach found to be successful in mobilising the growth of stem cells inside teeth. By delivering a specific type of small molecules through biodegradable collagen sponges in mice teeth, they were able to almost completely repair carious lesions within only six weeks.

According to the researchers, who published their results earlier this week in the Scientific Reports journal, as the sponges degraded over time, new dentine almost entirely formed in their place. Using this tooth’s natural ability to repair itself, the new approach could potentially reduce the need for fillings or dental cements, particularly for the repair of larger cavities, they said.

Currently, there are a number of trials underway worldwide that seek to use dental stem cells to repair tooth defects. Alternative ways to induce dentine regeneration include the use of keratin proteins and synthetic materials. At King’s, the scientists used small-molecule glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3) antagonists to mobilise cell growth, including Tideglusib, which could also help to fast-track the new approach to use in the practice, according to the researchers, as it has already been used in clinical trials to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurological diseases.

“The simplicity of our approach makes it ideal as a clinical dental product for the natural treatment of large cavities, by providing both pulp protection and restoring dentine,” lead author of the study and head of King’s Craniofacial Development and Stem Cell Biology Division Prof. Paul Sharpe said. “In addition, using a drug that has already been tested in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease provides a real opportunity to get this dental treatment quickly into clinics.”

The report, titled “Promotion of natural tooth repair by small molecule GSK3 antagonists”, was published in Scientific Reports on 9 January.

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