Research led by the Wyss Institute at Harvard University shows that lasers could be used to regrow damaged parts of teeth.
Scientists have been trying to figure out if certain wavelengths of light could trigger certain heating properties when focused on specific areas of the body, according to The Verge.
To conduct the experiment, a research team pointed an infrared laser at a hole drilled into the tooth of a rat. They discovered that the laser encouraged dentin, the material that makes up the core of a tooth, to grow back more than it would in other scenarios.
"Lasers are routinely used in medicine and dentistry, so the barriers to clinical translation are low," said David Mooney, the leader of the team. "It would be a substantial advance in the field if we can regenerate teeth rather than replace them."
While dentists normally protect damaged teeth with fillings, crowns and veneers made from synthetic materials, the researchers are looking to get dental stem cells to turn into new dentin, Popular Mechanics reported. The team aimed to find out if they could activate proteins in the body called growth factors and use them to manipulate dental stem cells.
The researchers looked to accomplish this with the light from lasers, which they believe could activate the growth factor known as transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-b1), which can stimulate dental stem cells to fix teeth. After drilling molars in rats' teeth and removing dentin, the team shone lasers on the teeth, which created caps on the molars. Improved dentin formation was confirmed twelve weeks later by high-resolution x-ray imaging.
The laser triggered a chain reaction by triggering one molecule, which triggered another, until the stem cells were activated. The researchers said tracking this reaction lets them prove the efficacy of the laser, The Verge reported.
The team believes they can use this method, called low-level light therapy, to activate cells in other parts of the body and produce similar results. They are looking to start human trials, and are currently setting up safety regulations with one of the National Institutes of Health.
The research was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
