Will Human Beings Be Able To Regrow Their Teeth In 5 Years?
Regrowing Natural Teeth & The Five Year Plan
Edentulism can get you down! Teeth may be hard little bits of bone like substances, but boy you can miss them when they are gone. Millions of people suffer from tooth loss globally. Toothlessness is a modern shame in a dentally perfect obsessed 21C world. The shining white teeth of Hollywood. The perfect smile. The reason why so many dentists drive Maserati’s and can afford to send their kids to private schools. All of these things scream, ‘it aint cool to have no teeth!’ Will human beings be able to regrow their teeth in 5 years? This is the plan, according to the experts.
How Will Humans Regrow Their Teeth in 5 Years?
“Teeth, however, are not bones. Although they’re made of some of the same stuff and are the hardest material in the human body (thanks to its protective layer of enamel), they lack the crucial ability to heal and regrow themselves. But that may not always be the case. Japanese researchers are moving forward with an experimental drug that promises to regrow human teeth. Human trials began in September 2024.”
– Popular Mechanics
The answer to this quandary is in suppressing genes, in particular the gene USAG 1. Kyoto University’s Katsu Takahashi talked about the similarity between ferrets and human beings. Most importantly, in relation to their similarity when it comes to dental patterns. Ferrets do have great teeth!
“If all goes well, Kitano Hospital will administer the treatment to patients between the ages of 2 to 7 who are missing at least four teeth, with the end goal of having a tooth-regrowing medicine available by the year 2030. While these treatments are currently focused on patients with congenital tooth deficiency, Takahashi hopes the treatment will be available for anyone who’s lost a tooth.”
– Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, March 2025
A Drug To Regrow Natural Teeth
However, if this test should prove successful, then, the hope is that the drug will become available to the toothless among us by the year 2030. What price will the ability to regrow one’s own natural teeth be is anybody’s guess. Pricey I would imagine; and with Donald Trump engaged in a trade war with the world things are only going to get more extreme in this regard. Pharmaceutical companies in the USA are already muscling up under the transactional Trump influence. Making the world a nastier, dog eat dog, place seems to be the name of the game right now. Rich people are being encouraged to take no prisoners when it comes to extracting maximum profits out of the vulnerable and needy. It will be interesting to see if it is a Japanese pharmaceutical company with the rights – and who will garner the Australian rights.
“The drug, created by researchers at Japanese biotech firm Toregem Biopharma, targets a protein called USAG-1, which suppresses tooth growth. By blocking this protein, researchers found that new teeth can naturally grow in the same place as lost ones.”
– The Economic Times
So far, in the various drug trials no nasty side effects have emerged. This will be the most amazing drug therapy ever to impact oral health and the dental sector. Those tinned soup shelves at the supermarket may soon be a bad memory for a whole demographic of human beings. Will we see a global renaissance for the beef industry and steak houses? Perhaps, pension day will feature 2 for 1 steak grill plates at bistros and restaurants across the nation. Chewing may return to the favourite pursuits category for many currently eating quiche. In all seriousness though folks, this will make a real difference to the lives of many who suffer from toothlessness.
Dental care is an expensive service in Australia and around the Western world. A visit to the dental clinic, where you get an extraction can cost between $500 and $800 on average around the country. Root canal therapy and crowns can cost anything from $2,500 up to $10,000 depending upon the work required and materials involved. A single dental implant is in the vicinity of $7,500 or more. What price, then, regrowing a single natural tooth? My speculative estimation will, in the short term, post 2030, be right up there at the top end of these figures.
Generally, prices come down over time when technologies are not so special anymore. However, dental care seems to be immune to this general trend. Indeed, the cost of oral care causes a lot of people to be excluded. It is the number one reason why so many neglect the health and care of their teeth. We live in a world where some seek to profit from the suffering of others and their need to alleviate that suffering. This is the healthcare model when unhindered by such things as socialised medicine. Medicare and the PBS are government, tax payer funded, initiatives to alleviate the financial impost upon Australians for their healthcare. Unfortunately, dental care is not included in Medicare.
Thus, we have the bizarre situation where our teeth and gums are not considered to be an equal part of the human body. Oral health gets special treatment in the form of unadulterated free market capitalism. The free part of that terminology is never free in the way most folk would like it to be.
Urgent Need For Financial Help For Older Australians To See A Dentist
Australian dental bodies are pushing the federal government to expand subsidies for older Australians who cannot afford to see a private dentist. The Australia Institute, a progressive think tank, identifies that Australia has an economic poverty problem for seniors. There are many older Aussies who have been living below the recognised poverty line for years. Those renters who missed out on the property boom and now live on the wrong side of a 2 speed economy.
“As Australia’s population ages, the need for a government-funded Seniors’ Dental Benefits Schedule (SDBS) has never been more urgent. Millions of older Australians struggle with untreated dental issues, impacting their overall health and quality of life.
The Australian Dental Association has long championed the introduction of a SDBS to provide affordable care to older Australians who need it most. With the 2025 federal election fast approaching, the ADA is calling on the government to finally step up and take action. By implementing the SDBS now, the government can prevent avoidable health complications, ease pressure on the healthcare system, and ensure that seniors receive the essential dental care they deserve and need for their long-term physical and mental well-being and quality of life. The dental profession and the public alike have a crucial role to play in supporting this push for overdue reform. The statistics are confronting: Australians over 65 have, on average, lost 14 teeth, and approximately 25% avoid certain foods due to dental issues. With 16% of the population currently over 65—a figure projected to double by 2062—the ADA emphasises the urgency of implementing targeted and sustainable funding for this vulnerable group of Australians.”
– ADA.org.au
Will human beings be able to regrow their teeth in 5 years? Will we have to see but fingers crossed it happens by 2030!
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