For the first time, researchers have used lasers to prod stem cells to rebuild and repair teeth. Harvard University researchers say their work lays the groundwork for new clinical applications for healing wounds, regenerating bones, and teeth, by spurring the body to make new tissue.
In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, lead researcher David J. Mooney — a professor of bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences — said his team was able to use low-powered laser light to spur human dental stem cells to form dentin, the bone-hard tissue that makes up the bulk of teeth.
The advance, detailed in
Medical News Today, offers a new way to use stem cells that eliminates the current need for scientists to remove from the body, work with them in the lab, and then put them back into patients.
"Our treatment modality does not introduce anything new to the body, and lasers are routinely used in medicine and dentistry, so the barriers to clinical translation are low," Mooney said. "It would be a substantial advance in the field if we can regenerate teeth rather than replace them."
Mooney worked with dentist Praveen Arany, M.D., on the research, which involved drilling holes in the molars of laboratory and treating the tooth pulp that contains adult stem cells with low-dose laser light. They then sealed the teeth with temporary caps and and waited.
After 12 weeks, high-resolution X-rays revealed the laser treatment had triggered dentin formation.
The develop confirms what many scientists have believed about low-level light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation. Since the 1960s, there have been anecdotal reports of doctors achieving remarkable results with laser light such as rejuvenating skin and stimulating hair growth.
The study was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health.
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