Grow teeth
Executive summary
Human tooth regrowth is no longer purely speculative: antibody drugs that block the protein USAG‑1 have produced new teeth in mice and ferrets, and Japanese teams have moved to early human trials, with some researchers projecting clinical availability around 2030 [1] [2] [3]. However, important biological, safety and regulatory unknowns remain; multiple alternative strategies—stem‑cell organoids and lab‑grown teeth—are advancing in parallel, so a single clear path to routine human tooth regrowth has not yet been established [4] [5] [6].
1. What the science actually did in animals: USAG‑1, antibodies and new teeth
Over the last few years researchers identified USAG‑1 as a molecular brake on tooth development and showed that systemic application of an antibody targeting USAG‑1 awakened dormant tooth‑forming programs, producing eruption of additional teeth in mice and ferrets—species chosen because their dental biology is closer to humans than simple rodent models—accompanied by published before/after images in lab reports [7] [1] [2].
2. Translation to humans: trials have begun but efficacy is unproven
Teams led by Katsu Takahashi and collaborators moved an anti‑USAG‑1 monoclonal therapy into first‑in‑human studies (often named TRG‑035 or described as an intravenous antibody), with trial design initially focused on safety and then on children with congenital tooth agenesis before broader testing; these trials began in late 2024/2025 according to multiple reports [2] [8] [9].
3. Why cautious optimism is warranted—and why it may still fail
Optimism rests on high amino‑acid homology of USAG‑1 across species and clean animal safety signals, and on analogy to antibody drugs used in bone disease; critics and independent commentators caution that regenerating a functional, correctly positioned tooth in a human jaw is biologically more complex than producing a tooth bud in an animal model, and that animal success does not guarantee human efficacy or acceptable side‑effect profiles [1] [10].
4. Competing and complementary approaches: lab‑grown teeth and organoids
Parallel efforts at institutions such as King’s College London and the University of Washington aim to grow teeth from stem cells or tooth organoids that mimic human enamel and pulp, offering alternative clinical strategies—transplantation of developing tooth tissue or lab‑grown whole teeth—that face their own hurdles around scale, integration with jaw bone and regulatory approval [5] [11] [4].
5. Timeline, translation and the business of hype
Multiple outlets and researchers have suggested a hopeful timetable toward clinical availability by about 2030 if trials proceed well; that estimate appears in reporting from Popular Mechanics, New Atlas and clinical summaries, but it is contingent on successful Phase 1–3 trials, scaling, and regulatory clearance, and some consumer‑focused pieces risk overstating near‑term availability [3] [2] [9] [12].
6. Practical implications today: what patients should expect
For now, conventional solutions—implants, dentures and restorative dentistry—remain the standard of care while regenerative strategies complete clinical validation; the current human trials are important proof‑of‑concept steps but do not yet establish safety, durability or efficacy across typical adult tooth loss scenarios, especially because age, underlying pathology and jaw‑site biology may alter outcomes [10] [6] [2].
7. The verdict: growing human teeth is plausible but not yet routine
The convergence of antibody‑based reactivation of a “third dentition” and stem‑cell organoid advances makes human tooth regeneration a realistic scientific objective, but translation from promising animal models to safe, reproducible human treatments remains the critical barrier; the next two to five years of clinical data will determine whether the early promise becomes a dental revolution or an instructive failure [7] [8] [4].