Using unique molecular mechanisms taken from the teeth of American alligators, researchers at the University of Southern California are hopeful that they may have made significant progress in helping humans renew teeth that are lost during adulthood; an alligators teeth can be replaced as many as fifty times during their lifetime.
The study has revealed that alligator teeth are far more complex than human teeth, with a functional tooth, a replacement tooth, and a dental lamina – which is a band of tissue that is crucial to tooth development; something which human beings have too. Cheng-Ming Chong, professor of pathology at the University, said that ‘Ultimately, we want to identify stem cells that can be used as a resource to stimulate tooth renewal in adult humans who have lost teeth. But, to do that, we must first understand how they renew in other animals and why they stop in people.’ Most vertebrates can replace teeth over the years but human teeth are only naturally replaced once, during adolescence.
The researchers are studying alligator teeth to find out whether the smooth transition from dislodgement to a functional tooth replacement could benefit human beings in the future. Associate professor of pathology Randall B. Widelitz explained that the idea is based around stem cells found in the dental lamina layer, which will replicate teeth in the alligators jaw bone. He added ‘In the future, we hope to isolate those cells from the dental lamina to see whether we can use them to regenerate teeth in the lab.’