Wonder Drug Can Grow Back Teeth! Alzheimer’s Drug Ends Use Of Fillings & Repairs Teeth In 6 Weeks

In the future, there will be no cavities and will have no use for dental fillings either as scientists have discovered a drug that can repair teeth. A drug that is used for Alzheimer's disease can boost the production of dentine to regrow tooth and to repair teeth. A team of researchers from King's College London has discovered the drug Tideglusib can stimulate stem cells in teeth to generate new dentine.

Teeth can naturally regenerate dentine when the pulp inside the tooth is exposed due to infection or trauma but it can only do so in thin layers, according to Telegraph. This very thin layer is not enough to fill decayed teeth due to cavities. Tideglusib acts by inhibiting an enzyme called GSK-3 and thus increases dentine production.

Tideglusib works like magic on damaged teeth. Scientists soaked a small biodegradable sponge with the Alzheimer's drug and placed it inside the tooth cavity. The drug triggers the production of dentine and was able to repair the damaged area of the teeth in just 6 weeks. The biodegradable sponge melts away leaving a completely repaired tooth.

"The simplicity of our approach makes it ideal as a clinical dental product for the natural treatment of large cavities, by providing pulp protection and restoring dentine," says Professor Paul Sharpe, lead author of the research at King's College London. He also mentioned that since this drug has been tested in clinical studies for Alzheimer's disease, it can already be used for treatment on actual patients.

Meanwhile, Mirror states that the use of the Alzheimer's drug provides a better way of fixing cavities compared to the use of fillings because these are prone to infection and may need replacement over time. Tideglusib has been previously used in patient trials to treat Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

Dr. Nigel Carter, CEO of Oral Health Foundation said that the use of Tideglusib is very interesting and a novel approach to the treatment of dental disease. He looks forward to the use of the drug in a clinical setting. The research was published in Scientific Reports.