"Lab-grown teeth would naturally regenerate, integrating into the jaw as real teeth," Xuechen Zhang, a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences, told the BBC. "They would be stronger, longer lasting, and free from rejection risks, offering a more durable and biologically compatible solution than fillings or implants."
The scientists were able introduce a material that lets one cell tell another cell to become a tooth cell, mimicking the environment of growing teeth and allowing the scientists to re-create how a tooth is developed, the BBC reported. Previous efforts to re-create this process in the lab had failed, as the cells were unable to communicate effectively, the Independent reported.