Dental Implant Can Grow Back Lost Gums And Prevent Tooth Loss

By John Jeffay, NoCamels September 12, 2022 2 minutes

Deposit Photos

A new dental implant regenerates the lost gum and bone tissue that can cause teeth to fall out.

The technology is already licensed for use on dogs and Israeli startup BioChange says it could be approved for humans within two years.

The company says it could help the approximately 40 per cent of adults who suffer from moderate to severe Gum Recession Disease (periodontitis).

The implant, made of medical-grade porcine gelatin and called ReGum, acts as regenerative scaffold technology platform.

It triggers a mechanism of repair by the patient’s own cells, resulting in regenerated, healthy tissue. Over time the scaffold itself biologically degrades.

The implants are currently available for veterinary use only. A study on ReGum published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science found there was a 100% improvement in dogs, with a significant regeneration of gum and bone tissues.

“We are very encouraged by the results of the ReGum study,” said Ishay Attar, BioChange’s founder and CEO.

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“For vets treating man’s best friend, the implant is easy to use and handle, and the procedure hardly takes any longer than the standard periodontal debridement treatment alone.”

Periodontal diseases are mainly the result of chronic infections and inflammation of the gums that surround and support the teeth.

In its early stage, called gingivitis, the gums can become swollen and red, and they may bleed. In its more progressive form, called periodontitis, the gum can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen and fall out.

Periodontal disease is a most widespread degenerative disease, which impacts far more than a person’s gums and teeth. There is now a significant body of evidence to support the link between periodontitis and life-threatening cardiovascular disease.

BioChange, founded in 2017, has developed a tissue regeneration technology that can effectively reverse the aging process. It has so far been used primarily for skin treatments.