Humans get two sets of teeth in a lifetime: baby teeth, then adult teeth. Lose an adult tooth and it's gone forever. But a team in Japan believes we may be carrying the seeds of a third set, and in 2024 they began testing a drug in humans to wake them up. 🦷 The story starts with a gene called USAG-1. Researchers led by Dr. Katsu Takahashi found that this gene acts like a brake on tooth development. When they blocked it with an antibody in mice and ferrets, the animals grew new, fully formed teeth. Ferrets matter here because, like humans, they have both baby and adult teeth. In September 2024, Kyoto University Hospital and the startup Toregem Biopharma began the first human safety trial. About 30 healthy adult men who were missing at least one molar received the antibody through an IV. This first phase is mainly about checking safety, not yet about proving teeth will grow. The main target is children born with congenital anodontia, a rare condition where several teeth never develop. If the trials succeed, the team has said they hope the treatment could become available around 2030. It's early, and many promising drugs fail in later trials. But for the first time, regrowing a human tooth is being tested in real people instead of only in labs. Source: Kyoto University Hospital and Toregem Biopharma, clinical trial launched September 2024 #ToothRegrowth #DentalScience #Japan #RegenerativeMedicine #USAG1 #FutureOfDentistry