LASER TREATMENT STIMULATES CELL GROWTH IN TEETH

U.S Research Team Uncover Stem Cell Stimulation Without Need To Add Chemicals

A research team in the U.S has had some success in healing teeth with low-power lasers. The team led by Praveen Arany at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in Bethesda, Maryland were seeking to discover whether it was possible to stimulate stem cell growth without the need for invasive procedures involving chemicals. They were essentially trying to use the body’s own mechanisms to heal itself.

Effectively the existing tooth structure contains everything needed for regeneration – adult stem cells, growth factors and the right conditions. Arany’s team knew from previous studies that laser light has been used to promote regeneration in heart, lung and even nerve cells. They experimented on rats, removing a piece of dentin – the hard calcified tissue found under a tooth’s enamel – from the tooth of a test rat. They then used a low-power laser on the uncovered tooth structure and soft tissue beneath it. Within twelve weeks of a single laser session, new dentin had grown in the cavity.

The team discovered that the light from the laser indirectly encourages growth factors called TGF-betas, which trigger stem cells in teeth to regenerate dentin. Further work has still to be done before the treatment can be used on humans. But, researchers in the field remain hopeful that it could one day provide a low-cost and minimally invasive treatment for patients and do away with the need for capping or tooth prosthesis.