A multi-national research team headed by University of Southern California School of Dentistry researcher Dr Songtao Shi, has successfully regenerated tooth root and supporting periodontal ligaments to restore tooth function in an animal model. The breakthrough holds significant promise for clinical application in human patients.

The study appeared last month in the inaugural issue of PLoS ONE. Utilising stem cells harvested from the extracted wisdom teeth of 18 to 20-year-olds, Dr Shi and colleagues created sufficient root and ligament structure to support a crown restoration in their animal model. The resulting tooth restoration closely resembled the original tooth in function and strength.

The technique relies on stem cells harvested from the root apical papilla, which is responsible for the development of a tooth's root and periodontal ligament. Previous studies conducted by Dr Shi and collaborator Stan Gronthos at the National Institutes of Health had utilised dental pulp stem cells. Dr Shi found the new technique to be superior.

“The apical papilla provides better stem cells for root structure regeneration. With this technique, the strength of the tooth restoration is not quite as strong as the original tooth, but we believe it is sufficient to withstand normal wear and tear,” he said.

He hopes to move the technique to clinical trials within the next several years, a potential boon for dental patients who are not appropriate candidates for dental implant therapy or would prefer living tissue derived from their own teeth. “Implant patients must have sufficient bone in the jaw to support the implant. For those who don't, this therapy would be a great alternative,” said Dr Shi.

He believes that the not-so-distant future may be one in which not only wisdom teeth, but those baby teeth once left to the tooth fairy for a pittance, will become valuable therapeutic tools. “We will be able to provide not only this technique, but other new therapies utilising a patient's own stem cells harvested from their preserved teeth. This is a very exciting discovery and one that I hope to see in wide-spread clinical use in the near future.”