New false teeth.

Artificially grown tooth transplanted into mouse

It may be time to redefine the concept of false teeth. A tooth grown  from embryonic cells has been successfully transplanted into the jaw of  a mouse. The transplant is a step towards providing artificial  replacements for donor organs that are in short supply.  To create the tooth, researchers at Tokyo University of Science in Japan  took cells destined to become teeth from mouse embryos. The cells were  implanted into an adult mouse, beneath a membrane that surrounds the  kidney.  Two months later, the cells had developed into a molar complete with a  periodontal ligament – fibres that attach the tooth to bone. The team  extracted the tooth and implanted it into the jawbone of another mouse.  Within 30 days, blood vessels and nerves surrounded the transplant which  functioned as if it were a native tooth.

Full story: New Scientist / PLoS One

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