May 28, 2014

expert reaction to lasers and dental stem cell differentiation, as published in Science Translational Medicine

A paper published in Science Translational Medicine reported that laser light could regenerate lost tooth structure by stimulating dentin (tissue that makes up the core of teeth) growth in rats.

Dr Dusko Ilic, Senior Lecturer in Stem Cell Science, King’s College London, said:

“In this elegant study, the scientists demonstrated not only that low power laser irradiation promotes dentin regeneration in vivo, they also discerned molecular mechanisms of action. The approach seems to be pretty straightforward and although it sounds high tech, the technology is not prohibitively expensive. Quite contrary, it is low cost. Since in teeth this process appears to enhance healing, I would expect to see clinical trials in humans very soon. This process has potential for dental regrowth but it remains to be seen whether it might be applicable to other parts of the body.”

‘Photoactivation of endogenous latent transforming growth factor–b1 directs dental stem cell differentiation for regeneration’ by Praveen R. Arany et al.  published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday 28 May 2014

Declared interests

None declared