Scientists from the Tokyo University of Science managed to grow a fully functional tooth in place of a removed one.

Researchers headed by Prof. Takasha Tsuji experimented on an infant mouse. They took about 40-50 thousand cells from a tooth germ of the mouse to further cultivate them in jelly-like collagen. As a result, the scientists got a tooth germ that they implanted into an adult mouse to replace a removed front-tooth. 37 days later, it grew through the gum. As 50 more days passed, the tooth grew into its normal size.

The successful completion of the experiment opens up new frontiers for reproductive medicine because this technology could be applied for a human. According to experts, the practical implementation of the technology could be real not earlier than in 5 years.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/gokce.