Well, Can Teeth Grow Back or Heal Themselves? The Long and Short of It: Teeth have a most extraordinary, but very finite means of providing for their healing. Read more: How teeth work To fix cavities, we might regrow the zones that repair enamel A strand of silicone could one day restore your damaged heartHuman molar (left) and vestibular lamina cells isolated from the stem cell zone in an adult human tooth with a cavity compared under microscopy.C.tooth regeneration (ad) chatterjee et al 2018/pgsm paper Dentine lies beneath both enamel on each individual toothand pulp is its soft innermost layer The authors found tiny molecules RNAs control which genes within certain dental fibroblast initiate dentin construction. But this method has serious restriction and on the other hand can not regenerate large amounts of damaged cavities or trauma.
How to Use Tooth Repair Mechanisms
Stem Cell Activity
When teeth are damaged, the stem cells in teeth that form them try to generate dentin again. Essentially, this built-in repair mechanism is necessary for preserving dental health but can only form limited amounts of new tissue. Consequently, even though teeth may be able to initiate their own repair; in most cases they cannot heal properly after major traumatic injuries unless a dentist intervenes23.
Natural healing is limited
Several things can block the natural healing process:
Extent of Damage: Severe damage typically exceeds the regenerative capacity of these stem cells within the tooth.
Risk of Infection: If the nerve gets exposed to a cavity, bacteria can get in and temporarily halt its healing process leading to chronic inflammation5.
Age and Health Factors: The repair mechanism that helps teeth heal themselves may work less efficiently as an individual gets older or if one has poor oral health7.
Background/Purpose of Dental Regeneration Research and Innovations
Both human and animal studies looking at ways to improve the intrinsic repair processes in teeth have been published recently. Tooth for instance is researches are currently investigating small molecules like Tideglusib, which may activate tooth stem cells to help in the creation of more dentin. However, initial animal studies have produced positive results with pronounced dentin regeneration reported in treated animals23.
Future Implications
Should they perform similarly in people, it could change dentistry by minimizing the need for traditional restorative procedures (i.e. fillings and crowns). Developing therapies to support natural regeneration but also promoting full restoration of damaged structures at the dental repair site is an ultimate aim (47).
In summary, despite that teeth possess some self-repairing capability through the activity of stem cells this capacity is limited and largely inadequate for repair in more extensive damages. Future advancements in oral health outcomes could be based on these investigations to augment natural phenomena.
