The Return of Teeth: How Science May Help Humans Regrow What Was Lost

For as long as humans have been human, tooth loss has been an inevitability.
Stone Age skeletons show signs of worn enamel and missing molars.
Ancient remedies (powders, oils, and charms) were powerless against decay.

Dentures carved from bone, ivory, and wood became desperate stand-ins, while modern dentistry armed us with implants, crowns, and bridges.

Yet no matter how far we advanced, there was always a finality to tooth loss.
Once a tooth was gone, it was gone forever.

Until now.

Scientists in Japan are working on something that feels pulled from myth: a drug that may allow humans to regrow lost teeth.
Not in the distant future, but here, now…clinical trials scheduled to begin in 2025.
A pill, not a prosthetic.
A regeneration, not a replacement.

This is not just dental medicine, it is biology remembering its ancient possibilities.

The Science of Tooth Regeneration

At the heart of this discovery lies a protein called USAG-1, which acts as a brake on the body’s natural ability to grow new teeth.
In normal life, this protein silences the stem cells that once gave us our two sets: baby teeth and permanent teeth.

But when researchers blocked USAG-1 in animal models, something extraordinary happened: the silence was broken.
The dormant stem cells stirred.
New, fully functional teeth began to grow in mice and ferrets.

It is a reawakening of biology.
By simply telling the body, “You are allowed,” the ancient program for tooth growth turns itself back on.

And unlike implants or dentures, these teeth are truly yours: rooted, vascularized, part of the living body, not foreign material anchored by titanium screws.

The End of Implants and Dentures?

Dentistry as we know it could be on the cusp of reinvention.
Today, implants and dentures dominate the field of tooth replacement.
They are marvels of engineering, yes, but they are also compromises…unnatural anchors that imitate what was lost.

If tooth regeneration succeeds, implants and dentures may one day feel like relics of a less imaginative age.
Instead of drilling, sculpting, and fixing, dentists could prescribe a pill.
Instead of engineering around the absence of a tooth, we would invite the body to restore itself.

This is medicine leaning into nature, not away from it.

Teeth as Symbols of Power

Teeth have always carried meaning beyond their biology.
They are symbols of strength, vitality, even ferocity.
In folklore, to lose a tooth was to lose power; to dream of tooth loss was to dream of mortality.

Sharks, who endlessly regenerate their rows of teeth, became symbols of relentless survival.

Now, humanity inches closer to reclaiming that same regenerative power.
What was once a weakness…our fragile teeth, prone to decay…may become resilience.

We may join the sharks, not in their ruthlessness, but in their ability to endlessly replace what is broken.

Cultural Reverberations

Think of the industries that orbit tooth loss.
Dental prosthetics.
Cosmetic dentistry.
Whitening, straightening, and reconstructing teeth at enormous cost.
If natural regeneration becomes possible, the culture around teeth will change.

Economics: Dental implant manufacturers may face disruption, while new regenerative clinics arise.
Aesthetics: A natural tooth will always look and feel more authentic than porcelain.
Psychology: The fear of losing teeth…a deep-seated anxiety…could fade for future generations.

For children, this could mean fewer braces, fewer cavities that haunt them into adulthood.
For the elderly, it could mean smiling with their own teeth at ninety.
For everyone, it means redefining what is possible.

The Ethics of Regeneration

But as with all breakthroughs, questions arise.
Will this drug be affordable, or will it remain a luxury for the wealthy?
Could it be misused, with people seeking “extra” teeth or exploiting biology for cosmetic extremes?
Will the balance of the mouth…jaw, gum, bite…be disrupted by unchecked regeneration?

Science always walks with shadow.
The same pill that restores dignity could also spark excess, vanity, or unintended consequences.

But perhaps the greater risk is hesitation, that we allow fear to prevent us from embracing one of the most remarkable possibilities of modern medicine.

A Future of Renewal

If clinical trials succeed, the first wave of patients may receive prescriptions within the next decade.
Imagine the headlines: “Humans Grow Third Set of Teeth.” Imagine the photos of elderly patients biting into apples with a new smile.
Imagine children never fearing cavities as a lifelong curse.

We are entering an age where loss is no longer permanent.
Where bodies can be coaxed into remembering forgotten abilities.
Where science no longer simply patches us, but restores us.

To grow new teeth is to reframe what it means to age.
It is to say: perhaps decline is not inevitable.
Perhaps the body, if asked gently, still knows how to heal itself in ways we thought were lost.

Teeth as Metaphor

Beneath the science, there is poetry here.
Teeth are resilience made visible.
They are the first tools we wield, grinding food into sustenance.
They are the first things we lose as children, and the first things we fear losing as adults.
To regrow them is to rewrite a story of loss into a story of renewal.

Like a forest regrowing after fire, like coral reefs rebuilding after storms, our own biology could learn to re-sprout what was broken.
Teeth are not just enamel and root…they are symbols of life’s persistence.

This new drug, still only beginning its journey, is a whisper of what may come: not just restored smiles, but restored faith in our own bodies.

The Memory of Evolution

There was a time when humans were not bound to two sets of teeth.

Ancient ancestors carried more regenerative gifts, replacing teeth multiple times, much like sharks and reptiles do today.
Somewhere along our evolutionary journey, this ability dimmed, conserved for other biological priorities.
Yet the code never vanished…it lay dormant, waiting.

The discovery that a single protein can silence or awaken this potential is a reminder that evolution rarely erases; it only buries.
By tapping into this forgotten memory, science is less inventing than uncovering.

What other dormant abilities might linger within us, hushed but not destroyed?
Tooth regeneration is not just about dentistry, it is about remembering who we were, and who we might still be.

The Emotional Landscape of a Smile

Teeth are not only tools for chewing, they are central to our identity.

A smile is one of the first gestures a baby learns, a language understood across cultures without translation.
To lose teeth is to lose part of that universal conversation.

Many who wear dentures or implants speak quietly of self-consciousness, of covering their mouths when they laugh.
Imagine the healing that comes not just physically but emotionally when natural teeth return.
Regeneration is more than biology, it restores dignity, confidence, and the radiant act of smiling without hesitation.

It is science touching the soul, not just the body.

Dentistry Reimagined

Walk into a dental office today, and you enter a place of drilling, filling, polishing, replacing.

Dentistry has always been about managing decline…patching cracks, sealing cavities, compensating for absence.
But what happens when dentistry becomes not about repair, but about regeneration?

Dentists may become shepherds of renewal, guiding patients through biological restoration instead of mechanical substitution.
This shift could transform the very culture of dental care.
Preventive care will still matter, but the horizon expands: your dentist could become not a fixer of loss, but a conductor of rebirth.

The entire philosophy of dentistry would move from scarcity to abundance, from coping with loss to inviting return.

The Ripple Effect on Aging

Aging has long been associated with tooth loss.
Dentures in a glass of water, gums without bite, the fading of vitality…these have been clichés of growing old.

But what if those clichés evaporate?

If we can regrow teeth at eighty, ninety, one hundred, then the very symbols of aging change.
Apples can be bitten into, corn on the cob enjoyed, laughter shared without hesitation.
Beyond function, the psychological impact could be profound: elders might not feel as “old” when their smiles remain whole.

In this way, tooth regeneration is not only medical, it reshapes our entire narrative of what it means to age.

Beyond Teeth: The Door to Regeneration

The thrill of tooth regrowth does not stand alone…it is a doorway cracked open.

If the body can be persuaded to summon back a tooth, what else might it remember how to grow?
Could cartilage bloom again in worn knees, neurons spark anew in silent circuits of the brain, even organs reawaken after decline?
Each step in regeneration is a whisper of something larger…that aging is not a one-way fall, but a conversation between loss and renewal.

The tooth may be the first stanza in a longer poem, a humble pilot project of biology that reveals a grander script still hidden.

It is not merely about enamel and root, but about rewriting what it means to break and to heal.
If we can teach the body to restore what it once surrendered, then aging itself shifts…from inevitability into negotiation, from descent into dialogue.
Teeth, in this light, are not an ending, but a beginning, a signal flare of what may yet be possible.

Smile for the Future

When future generations hear the phrase “lost tooth,” they may laugh at its finality.
They will live in a world where teeth return, as natural as hair or skin.
They will marvel that we once accepted dentures and implants as the best we could do.

For us, standing here at the threshold, it is science remembering what was always within us.

And so, perhaps the greatest gift of this drug is not simply the return of teeth.

It is the reminder that loss is not always permanent.
That hidden within us are ancient scripts of resilience, waiting only for the right key to turn them on again.

The era of toothlessness may be ending.
The era of renewal is just beginning.

Disclaimer: Research into tooth regeneration is ongoing. The current work is being led by Toregem Biopharma, a Kyoto-based biotech startup in collaboration with Kyoto University. Human clinical trials are expected to begin in 2025. While early results in animal studies are promising, this therapy is not yet available to the public and its long-term safety and effectiveness remain under investigation.

Sources:

Ikeda, Etsuko, et al. “Regeneration of Teeth by Inhibition of USAG-1.” Nature Communications, vol. 12, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1–12. Springer Nature, doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23184-7.

Katoh, Hiroshi, and Takashi Tsuji. “Tooth Regeneration and the Future of Dentistry.” International Journal of Oral Science, vol. 13, no. 1, 2021, pp. 1–8. Nature Publishing Group, doi:10.1038/s41368-021-00141-9.

Kyoto University. “Drug that Regrows Teeth Moves Closer to Clinical Trials.” Kyoto University News, 15 June 2023, https://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/research-news/2023/regrow-teeth-clinical-trials. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. “Tooth Development and Regeneration.” NIH, 2022, https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/tooth-development-regeneration. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Yokohama National University. “Scientists Discover Protein Inhibitor That Allows Tooth Regrowth in Mammals.” YNU Research Highlights, 27 May 2021, https://www.ynu.ac.jp/english/research/tooth-regrowth. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.