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7:37am, Sat 9 Mar 2013 - last updated Sat 9 Mar 2013

Scientists have come a step closer to replacing missing teeth with implants grown from stem cells.

Researchers managed to engineer hybrid human-mouse teeth coated in enamel with developing roots.

It could mean that in future dentures are replaced by real substitute molars grown from "seeds" planted into a patient's jaw.

Two kinds of cell were used to make the bioengineered teeth. Epithelial "surface lining" cells were taken from the gum tissue and mesenchymal cells from the mouse embryos. Mesenchymal stem cells can develop into a range of different tissues, including bone, cartilage and fat.

Epithelial cells derived from adult human gum tissue are capable of responding to tooth-inducing signals from embryonic tooth mesenchyme in an appropriate way to contribute to tooth crown and root formation and give rise to relevant differentiated cell types, following in-vitro (in a living body) culture. These easily accessible epithelial cells are thus a realistic source for consideration in human biotooth formation. The next major challenge is to identify a way to culture adult human mesenchymal cells to be tooth-inducing, as at the moment we can only make embryonic mesenchymal cells do this.

The findings are published in the latest issue of the Journal Of Dental Research.

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