Tufts develops smart dental implant to restore sensation and connect with the brain

BOSTON, USA: Scientists at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine have taken a major step toward developing a smart dental implant that could one day restore natural sensation and neural connection — something traditional titanium implants cannot do.

Led by Dr. Jake Jinkun Chen, professor of periodontology and director of the Division of Oral Biology, the Tufts team recently published their breakthrough in Scientific Reports. Their preclinical study in rats showed early success with a biodegradable, stem-cell-coated implant that encourages nerve regeneration and may eventually send signals to the brain.

“Conventional implants lack the nerve elements that natural teeth have,” said Dr. Chen. “Our goal is to create a bio-integrated solution that restores not just function, but feeling.”

What makes this smart dental implant different?

The implant design marks a departure from current approaches:

• Gentler surgical technique:The implant is inserted using a “press-fit” method that avoids deep bone fusion (osseointegration), preserving space for soft tissue growth.
• Biodegradable coating:It releases dental pulp stem cells and growth factors as it dissolves, promoting nerve tissue development.
• Tissue engineering principles:Combining scaffolds, stem cells, and molecular cues to trigger the body’s natural repair processes.

Promising results from preclinical testing

In the animal study:

• Implants stayed stablewith no signs of inflammation or rejection six weeks after surgery.
• Imaging showed a soft tissue interfaceforming around the implant — not rigid bone fusion — indicating an environment suitable for nerve regeneration.
• The team now aims to test functional connectionto the brain using Harvard’s high-resolution imaging tools.

“We want to see if regenerated nerves actually transmit signals to the proprioception areas of the brain,” Dr. Chen said, referencing the brain's control of pressure and movement sensing.

Why sensory dental implants matter

Dental implants are growing in popularity, especially with aging populations. In the United States, the number of adults with at least one implant rose from 1% in the early 2000s to 5% by 2016. Canada’s market is projected to nearly double by 2030.

Yet conventional implants come with limitations:

• Loss of natural feedback:Patients can’t feel pressure or texture, which can cause chewing dysfunction or trauma.
  Risk to nearby teeth: A 2023 study found that teeth adjacent to implants were twice as likely to develop jawbone infections compared to natural-tooth neighbors.
• Structural loss:Tooth extraction removes soft tissue, nerves, collagen fibers, and blood vessels, making full biological restoration difficult.

Tufts’ smart implant design addresses these challenges by not just replacing teeth — but rebuilding the surrounding neurobiological network.

What’s next for smart implants?

The Tufts team is now preparing for:

• Neural testing with brain imagingto confirm functional proprioception
• Stem cell personalization,ideally using the patient’s own cells to reduce rejection risk
• Advanced RNA studies,focusing on non-coding RNA's role in tissue regeneration
• Grant-funded trials,with an NIH grant request of $3.59 million under review

Chen emphasized that this innovation is part of a larger mission to explore oral-systemic health connections, including the role of periodontal pathogens in Alzheimer’s disease and other chronic illnesses.

“Smart implants are not just a technical upgrade,” Dr. Chen concluded. “They represent a step toward restoring the body’s full sensory experience — bridging medicine, bioengineering, and patient quality of life.”