With age, teeth get increasingly brittle and susceptible to damage from tooth decay, which can eventually lead to tooth loss. Teeth have an intrinsic capability to regenerate, a process that is driven by dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) that replenish the dental pulp, including the dentin-producing cells called odontoblasts.

DPSCs stop working in aging teeth, divide less, and generate fewer odontoblasts, a process that is called senescence or the biological process of aging through gradual deterioration. DPSC senescence is thought to be a cause of declining tooth health with age.

In their work published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, the researchers first compared the regenerative capacity of young and old human molars affected by severe tooth decay.