A tiny ultrasound device could help people regrow teeth, researchers at the University of Alberta say.
The prototype ultrasound device can be mounted on braces or a plastic removable crown. (CBC)
The prototype device offers a way to reform human dental tissue for the first time, the team said Wednesday.
Everyone from hockey players to children who knock out a tooth could benefit.
The treatment, called low-intensity pulsed ultrasound, massages the gums to stimulate jaws, encourage growth in the roots of teeth and aid healing in dental tissue.
"If the root is broken, it can now be fixed," said Dr. Tarak El-Bialy of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. "And because we can regrow the teeth root, a patient could have his own tooth rather than foreign objects in his mouth."