Scientists have created a device that can make human teeth grow back. The tiny ultrasound machine fits into a patient's mouth on a brace bracket or a removable plastic crown, where it gently massages gums and stimulates dental growth from the root.
It is wireless and is controlled by a pocket-sized remote carried by the user. The team at the University of Alberta in Canada hope the low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) system, which is smaller than pea, will be available to the public within two years.
It is currently being designed to help repair fractured or diseased teeth but in the future could help sports players or children who have a tooth knocked out. And eventually the same technology could even be used to grow bones, raising the possibility that people could make themselves taller.