Scientists have shown that it is possible to grow teeth from adult gum cells.
Cells were isolated from adult gum tissue and then combined with mouse embryonic tooth cells. Teeth with developing roots were produced, which contained dentin and enamel of human origin.
It is likely to be more than a decade before it is possible to engineer a whole tooth suitable for implantation, and adult sources of large numbers of human epithelial and mesenchymal cells need to be found.