Clinical trials for the first tooth regrowth medicine will start in September at Kitano Hospital, Osaka, Japan. The drug, which inhibits the protein USAG-1, aims to help those missing teeth.

Clinical trials of the world’s first ‘tooth regrowth medicine’ are set to commence in September
at Kitano Hospital in Osaka, Japan.

The medicine deactivates a protein called USAG-1, which inhibits the growth of teeth¹. 

Once the medicine’s safety is confirmed, it will be given to patients missing at least one tooth to gauge
its effectiveness.

If successful, it will then be given to people congenitally lacking a full set of teeth. The absence
of six or more teeth, a condition known as oligodontia, is believed to be hereditary, and is said to affect about 0.1% of the population.

The team, led by Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano, believes that in the future it may also be possible to grow teeth not only in people with congenital conditions, but also in those who have lost teeth through dental disease or injury.

1. Advances in tooth agenesis and tooth regeneration – V. Ravi,A. Murashima-Suginami, H. Kiso, Y. Tokita, C.L. Huang, K. Bessho, J. Takagi, M. Sugai, Y. Tabata, K. Takahashi.

Tags: clinical, Medicine, tooth, trial