PIPELINE パイプライン

■ The Future Opened by Biohybrid Implants

Natural teeth are connected to the surrounding alveolar bone through the periodontal ligament. This ligament plays multiple essential roles, including absorbing occlusal shock during chewing, providing sensory and nociceptive functions, enabling immune defense through the infiltration of immune cells, and facilitating tooth movement during growth and aging.

The most advanced modern treatment for tooth loss is dental implantation. Implants effectively restore occlusion and provide excellent esthetic outcomes. However, because titanium implants integrate directly with the bone, they lack a periodontal ligament. Consequently, they are unable to reproduce the physiological functions mediated by the periodontal ligament, a limitation that has long underscored the need for implants capable of restoring these functions.​

As part of our work in functional “tooth regeneration,” we successfully conferred a periodontal ligament—normally present in natural teeth—onto the surface of implants. This resulted in the development of a next-generation biohybrid implant, which possesses nearly all the physiological functions of natural teeth, including sensory perception and tooth mobility. In non-clinical canine studies, functional periodontal ligament formation was observed in all 16 treated cases.​

■ Biohybrid Implant Treatment Technology​

In conventional treatments using osseo-integrated implants, bone regeneration is first performed at the site of tooth loss or after extraction. A hole is drilled into the regenerated bone at the intended implant site, and the implant is screwed in to achieve osseointegration. The overall treatment period is generally reported to take approximately 6 to 12 months.​

In contrast, in first-generation biohybrid implant therapy, following tooth extraction, a specially designed implant of the same size as the natural root is placed into the site and stabilized via fixation to adjacent teeth. It is expected that periodontal ligament formation will occur within about six months. Because the implant type and fixation device are pre-selected and customized to the patient, the transplantation procedure can be performed as simply as a tooth extraction.​ ​

Biohybrid implant treatment eliminates the need for invasive surgical drilling of bone by implant specialists, thereby reducing clinical risks as well as the physical and psychological burden on patients.​

■ Pipeline of Biohybrid Implants

The first stage in the clinical application of biohybrid implants in humans involves the use of the patient’s own periodontal ligament. In cases where teeth must be extracted due to fractures or caries, provided that the periodontal ligament remains intact, the natural ligament can be utilized. This approach is defined as the first-generation biohybrid implant, and clinical research has already been initiated in humans, beginning with single-rooted teeth. Research and development are also underway for multi-rooted teeth, such as molars.​

The second-generation biohybrid implant is intended for cases where a healthy periodontal ligament cannot be obtained, such as in patients with advanced periodontal disease or long-standing tooth loss. In these scenarios, regeneration of the periodontal ligament and/or alveolar bone is required, and this constitutes one of the key pipelines in our ongoing research and development strategy.​