Cells taken from the gum tissue of adults can be combined with cells from the molars of fetal mice to form rooted teeth.. This result was achieved in a study published in the Journal of Dental Research.. This method still has a long way to go for practical implementation, but it was an important step towards the bioengineered replacement of lost teeth..

Teeth grow when fetal epithelial cells in the mouth combine with mesenchyme from the neural crest. Previous studies have shown that these cells can combine in the laboratory to form teeth, but the challenge was to find a non-embryonic source of these cells..

As a source of such cells, the team of cytobiologist Paul Sharpe extracted epithelial cells from the gums of adult humans, cultured them in the laboratory, and added mesenchymal tooth cells from mouse embryos.. A week later, the researchers transplanted this mixture into protective tissue in the kidney area of \u200b\u200bliving mice, where some of the cells developed into a hybrid of human and mouse teeth, with dentin, enamel, and roots..

Sharpe said: "

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