Polish scientists want to grow a third set of teeth

Our first teeth are milk teeth, which fall out in childhood. In their place, the adult teeth are the second set.

"Scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology in cooperation with the Medical University of Karola Marcinkowski in Poznań have started a project in which they will check whether it is possible to grow third set of teeth from stem cells located in the gums.

- We have put forward a hypothesis that the gingival tissues are able to transform into other structures, especially a specific group of stem cells - says Dr. Eng. Agnieszka Gadomska-Gajadhur from the Faculty of Chemistry, WUT, manager of the SteamScaf project. - We want to explore the possibilities of their use. We will find out what kind of tissues can be made from them - she explains.

This would be possible due to the fact that the oral cavity has a very high regenerative potential. For example, in the place of a removed tooth, not only the bone and cartilage structure, but also epithelial and nervous structures are rebuilt. Thanks to this, after extraction, you do not lose feeling in the area of ​​the jaw and palate.

Scientists from Poznań are responsible for the differentiation of cells taken from pig's gums towards bone, cartilage or nervous tissue. Researchers from Warsaw, on the other hand, are constructing a carrier on which stem cells will be embedded and will be able to grow, transforming into tissue.

For now, dental compounds are able to be grown in laboratories by the Japanese. For this they use stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood."