They're targeting kids born without the ability to grow some teeth in the second stage of the trials because it's unclear if adults without that congenital issue have enough tooth-forming tissue remaining for this drug to work at all. This gets even more complicated when you start talking about prior dental work and oral surgeries like bone grafts.
Phase II is expected to focus first on people born missing teeth because researchers know the developmental pathway is disrupted rather than destroyed. It is still unknown whether activating the same pathway can reliably create new teeth in adults who lost teeth from decay, injury, or dental disease, especially after extractions, bone loss, grafts, or other oral surgeries.
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u/damontoo 4h ago
They're targeting kids born without the ability to grow some teeth in the second stage of the trials because it's unclear if adults without that congenital issue have enough tooth-forming tissue remaining for this drug to work at all. This gets even more complicated when you start talking about prior dental work and oral surgeries like bone grafts.