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A handful of Boston-area researchers and companies are looking to put more bite into reconstructive and regenerative technologies for the jaw, teeth and gums.
Many people suffer from receding gums, which exposes the teeth, weakens their support and invites decay. However, the typical treatments include grafting a patient’s own palate tissue to the receding area and allowing the tissue to regrow. This is a slow and painful process, prone to bleeding and potential infection.
Now a number of companies and researchers are looking to improve on this, with investors putting up the cash to make it happen. For instance, in April, tissue regeneration biotech InCytu Inc. closed a $3 million round of institutional and other investment, and the firm plans to look for additional cash in the fall.
Since 2000, a “revolution” has been in the making to fix and regenerate the tissues that support and surround the teeth. These include treatments relying on tissue — both specially cultured or from cadavers — and titanium-based implants, according to Nadeem Karimbux, associate professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine in Boston.
“This field has great potential,” Karimbux said. “Any time you can offer patients solutions that don’t involve taking away tissue from their palate, that’s a great application.”
Eventually, these cutting-edge treatments will be reimbursable by insurance, he said.
The need is serious, according to Alfred Vasconcellos, president and CEO of Lincoln, R.I.-based biotech InCytu, whose approach to tissue-regeneration focuses on the manipulation of different biomaterials. “The numbers are striking,” said Vasconcellos. “Some 16 percent of the population have incidents of moderate to severe gum disease at age 65 or older. There is a huge need for both soft and hard tissue treatments.”
He said that includes treating cleft palate in children, as well.
One of the companies devising new technologies and treatments is Canton-based Organogenesis Inc. For years, the company has been modifying its core Apligraf tissue regeneration platform to create a companion product for specific use on the gums, said Geoff MacKay, the firm’s CEO. The new product, which contains living human cells in a collagen matrix, is dubbed CelTx, and is being positioned as a less painful, quicker and gentler alternative to a palate graft.
“We expect to be the first with a living cell treatment approved for this application, with site-specific regeneration,” said MacKay.
The company has already completed CelTx Phase 3 trials, and is finalizing data for approval submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the year’s end, he said.
Along similar lines, InCytu has done work in regenerating blood vessels, ligaments and hard tissue. These treatments are applicable to mouth and jaw regeneration, said Vasconcellos. He’s seeking a partner to help the company with further clinical trials and to commercialize the technology.
Terrence Griffin, associate professor of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, has his own unique treatment. This involves applying platelet-rich blood plasma to the receding gums, which causes clotting that promotes new blood vessels, collagen synthesis, and the growth of new bone over the roots, he said.
Although the process has not been widely deployed, he’s been performing the treatment for eight years. He’s refining the technique, and plans to publish in August his latest findings, possibly taking the procedure mainstream.
Additionally, Karimbux said some local companies can assist the regrowth of teeth by using implants made of titanium or other materials in the jaw, allowing patients to avoid bridge installation. The firms include Straumann USA LLC, located in Andover, a subsidiary of Swiss-based Straumann. Another company is Keystone Dental Inc., based in Burlington, which also offers tissue-regeneration products.
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