Drug that regrows teeth will be tested in humans this September
While bones can regrow themselves when they break, teeth are not as fortunate.
Getting only a set of adult teeth means that if you don’t take care of them, you’ll lose them.
This is why millions of people worldwide suffer from some form of edentulism, with 75% of the UK’s population not having a complete set of teeth.
But the good news is on the horizon
Did you know that humans may be able to regrow new teeth in six years? Doesn’t that feel like something straight out of a science fiction novel?
However, this is real life, and if trials are successful, the treatment drug might be available in 2039, helping to treat all forms of tooth loss.
Researchers in Japan are set to begin human trials in September 2024, where a tooth-regenerating medicine will be administered intravenously.
“We want to do something to help those who are suffering from tooth loss or absence,” Katsu Takahashi, the head of dentistry at the medical research institute at Kitano Hospital in Osaka, told The Mainichi. “While there has been no treatment to date providing a permanent cure, we feel that people’s expectations for tooth growth are high.”
Excited about the future of tooth regrowth?
So are we — but until it’s available, we’re here with proven solutions to restore your smile today.
Call us on 020 7928 4474 to speak with our team at Mint Dental Clinic in Elephant & Castle, London, and explore the best options for replacing or restoring missing teeth.
Years of study
The development has focused on a particular antibody called Uterine sensitisation–associated gene-1 (USAG-1), which has been shown to regrow teeth in ferrets and mice.
In 2021, the team discovered a monoclonal antibody, a technique used to combat cancer.
The antibody disrupts the interaction between USAG-1 and molecules known as bone morphogenetic protein (BMP).
“We knew that suppressing USAG-1 benefits tooth growth. We did not know whether it would be enough,” Kyoto University’s Katsu Takahashi, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement at the time. “Ferrets are diphyodont animals with similar dental patterns to humans.”
The human trials
Exploring the similarities between human dental patterns and those of ferrets, human trials are scheduled to begin in September 2024.
They will last 11 months and focus on 30 males aged between 30 and 64, each of whom is missing at least one tooth.
The new drug will be administered intravenously to prove its effectiveness and safety, with no side effects reported in previous animal studies.
If all goes well, Kitano Hospital plans to administer the treatment to patients aged between 2 and 7 who have congenitally missing teeth and are missing at least four teeth.
The ultimate goal is to have teeth-regenerating medicine available by 2030.
While these treatments are currently focused on patients with congenital tooth deficiency, researchers hope that the treatment will become available to anyone who has ever lost a tooth.
What about right now?
However, in the meantime, to maintain your oral health, you may want to consider exploring alternative tooth replacement solutions.
While the science develops, we offer proven solutions to restore your smile today.
If you’re missing teeth, book your complimentary implant consultation online (a £25 deposit secures your spot and is refunded on the day), or call us on 020 7928 4474.
Our team at Mint Dental Clinic in Elephant & Castle, London is here to help you explore your options with no pressure.
Update: Where Tooth Regrowth Research Has Actually Got To
The sections above were written when the first human trial was still ahead of us. It has since happened, and the picture has moved on considerably. Here is where things stand as of August 2026.
The short version: the first safety trial finished without serious side effects, the drug now has a name and a company behind it, and testing has moved to the patients it was designed for. It has still not been shown to grow a tooth in a human being.
The drug is called TRG035
The treatment being developed from Katsu Takahashi’s research is now formally known as TRG035, developed by Toregem BioPharma, a spin-out company from Kyoto University. Total funding, including grants and subsidies, has passed 29 million US dollars.
It works the way the earlier research suggested. USAG-1 is a protein that suppresses tooth development. The antibody blocks it, with the aim of waking up dormant tooth buds that are already present in the jaw but never developed.
That last point matters more than most coverage admits, and we come back to it below.
Phase 1 finished without serious side effects
The first human trial tested safety rather than effectiveness. It enrolled healthy adults who were missing at least one tooth, and it concluded without serious adverse events being reported.
Safety is genuinely good news, and it is not the same as the drug working. A Phase 1 trial is designed to answer whether a treatment harms people, not whether it helps them.
Phase 2 has moved to children with congenital hypodontia
The next stage tests the drug in the group it was always aimed at first: people with severe congenital hypodontia, defined by the company as being born without six or more permanent teeth. Trials in this group were reported in June 2026 as beginning at Kyoto University Hospital.
This is a small, specific group of patients with a genetic condition. It is not adults who have lost teeth to gum disease, decay or injury.
Will This Work for Someone Who Has Lost a Tooth?
This is the question almost everybody arrives with, and the honest answer is that nobody knows yet.
The biology gives a reason for caution. The approach works by activating tooth buds that already exist in the jaw and never developed. People born without teeth often still have those dormant buds. Someone who grew a full set of adult teeth and later lost one to an extraction usually does not.
Whether the same mechanism can produce a tooth where no bud remains is an open scientific question, not a settled one. Researchers have described adult tooth loss as a longer-term goal rather than the current target.
So if you are missing a tooth today because of decay, gum disease or an accident, this research is genuinely exciting and it is not a treatment you can plan around.
When Could It Actually Be Available?
You will see 2030 quoted widely, and that figure comes from the research team’s own stated ambition rather than from a regulator or an approval schedule.
Recent reporting on the Phase 2 trial gives no firm availability date at all, and describes TRG035 as still experimental, noting it has not yet been shown to regrow teeth in humans.
Some context on what that means in practice. Drugs that clear Phase 1 do not usually reach patients. Phase 2 and Phase 3 both have to succeed, then each country’s regulator has to approve it separately. Timelines in this field slip far more often than they hold.
Our honest read: this is promising early stage science that deserves the attention it gets. Treating it as a dental plan for the next few years would be a mistake.
Will it be available in the UK?
Not automatically, and not at the same time as Japan.
A drug approved by Japanese regulators still needs separate approval from the MHRA before it can be prescribed here. That is an additional process with its own timeline, and it only begins once the manufacturer decides to seek UK approval.
Realistically, the UK would follow Japan rather than move alongside it.
What This Means If You Are Missing a Tooth Now
We have had patients ask, quite seriously, whether they should leave a gap and wait for this.
We would not advise it, and the reason is not commercial.
A gap does not stay a gap. The teeth either side drift into the space, the tooth above or below it over-erupts because nothing is meeting it, and the bone that held the root begins to resorb once it is no longer being loaded. That process starts within months. Several years of waiting can turn a straightforward single tooth replacement into one that first needs orthodontics or a bone graft.
Put plainly, waiting for a treatment that may not arrive, and may not apply to acquired tooth loss when it does, tends to leave you with a harder and more expensive problem.
The options available today are well established. A dental implant replaces the root as well as the crown and preserves the bone, which is the part a gap loses. A bridge is fixed and quicker. A single tooth denture is the cheapest and is fully reversible, which makes it a reasonable choice for anyone who genuinely does want to keep their options open.
That last one is worth noting for anyone following this research closely. If your instinct is to avoid anything permanent until the science settles, a removable denture keeps the space filled and the teeth stable without committing you to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can humans regrow teeth?
Not currently. Humans grow two sets, and once an adult tooth is lost the body does not replace it. The research described here is an attempt to change that, and it has not yet been shown to work in people.
Is the tooth regrowth drug available yet?
No. TRG035 is experimental and in clinical trials. It is not available anywhere in the world, through any clinic, and cannot be bought privately.
What is the tooth regrowth drug called?
TRG035, developed by Toregem BioPharma, a Kyoto University spin-out. It is an antibody that blocks a protein called USAG-1.
Will it work for teeth lost to decay or gum disease?
Unknown. It works by activating dormant tooth buds, which people born with missing teeth often still have and people who lost teeth later usually do not. Adult tooth loss is described as a longer-term goal.
How much will it cost?
Nobody can say. The drug is not approved, has no price, and no country has decided whether it would be publicly funded. Any figure you see quoted is speculation.
Should I wait for this instead of getting an implant?
We would not recommend it. Bone loss and tooth drift begin within months of losing a tooth, so waiting several years for an uncertain treatment usually makes the eventual solution harder. If you want to keep your options open, a removable denture holds the space without committing you.
Can children with missing teeth get this treatment?
Only through the clinical trial, which is running at Kyoto University Hospital for children with severe congenital hypodontia. It is not available outside the trial.
Talk to Us About What Is Possible Today
If you are following this research because you are missing a tooth, we are happy to talk through what actually exists now and what keeps your options open for later.
Call 020 7928 4474 or book online. We are in Elephant and Castle, and the implant consultation is complimentary if you mention it when booking.
Sources: Dentistry.co.uk, June 2026 and Toregem BioPharma. This page describes ongoing research and is not medical advice. Last reviewed August 2026.
