Over the last few decades, there has been a reduction in the prevalence as well as the incidence of tooth loss, globally, but the condition still carries a significant aesthetic, and psychological burden on individuals. Tooth loss is an oral condition that affects an individual’s quality of life, in addition to being associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, particularly in the context of dental caries and infection. The current approaches to treating tooth loss includes the use of dental prostheses, transplantations, and dental implants. However, there are still unmet therapeutic needs since dental procedure has become a commodity, one not all can afford. Hence, therapeutic alterative such as tooth regeneration may serve a better purpose, since this would allow patients to regain self-confidence. Very recently, research have been focused on the idea of tooth regeneration since lack of treatment for congenital and partial tooth anomalies remain a significant burden in children.  A study performed by Ravi et al., (2023) proposed by inactivating uterine sensitisation associated gene-1 (USAG-1), congenital tooth agenesis can be successfully ameliorated during early tooth development and may promote late-stage tooth morphogenesis in double knockout mice. Nonetheless, these findings are so far only limited to animal models, and further long-term clinical trials in healthy adults are expected to begin in July 2024. If successful, this would be a first break through treatment which would provide a more cost-effective treatment for those with tooth anomalies, particularly children. Moreover, this would also inevitably address the issues related to dental aesthetics in adults.

References:

Silva Junior MF, et al. PLoS One 2019;14(7):e0219240. 
Ravi V, et al. Regen Ther 2023; 22:160-8.