Dawlish News
Now we can regrow missing teeth
The procedure entails taking stem cells from a living being, nurturing them in a laboratory until they form a ball of new cells known as a bud, and inserting the bud into the gum where the new tooth is needed.
The researchers estimate human teeth in adults could take about two months to develop fully.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the potential to grow into other kinds of cells in the body, and are often used in biological research.
The college has set up a private company, Odontis, to develop the venture, and was given a start-up grant of 500,000 pounds to work toward a commercial product for humans, the BBC reported.
Testing on humans could begin in about two years.
"There is no reason why it shouldn't work in humans, the principles are the same," Paul Sharpe, a specialist in the field of regenerative dentistry and the developer of the technique, told the Guardian newspaper.
If proven successful, the procedure could be a boon for Britain, where people over 50 lose on average 12 of their 32 teeth.
