Regaining the sensation of chewing could protect patients with implants from long-term dental damage. 

While we may not notice it in daily life, we rely on sensory feedback from our teeth not only to enjoy the texture of food but also to chew it with the right amount of force. With conventional implants, sensation is lost in the artificial tooth, meaning patients may use too much force when eating, causing damage to other teeth and the jaw over time. 

This problem could end thanks to scientists in China, who have developed a piezoelectric tooth implant that transforms the mechanical forces of chewing into electrical signals. These signals are then sent to the brain via the tooth nerve to restore sensation.   

“Existing implants are primarily designed to restore masticatory function yet fail to completely recover the sensory feedback of natural teeth,” states Yunyun Han, professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology. “Over 90% [of] patients reported the recovery of masticatory perception after being implanted with the piezoelectric tooth compared with those with commercial ceramic dental crowns.”

An alternative strategy

For years, researchers have explored a number of strategies to make tooth implants capable of sensing chewing forces. However, success has been limited so far. 

In natural teeth, sensation begins at the ligament and bone that wrap the tooth’s root, where the nerve endings are located. Specialized mechanoreceptors in these tissues are responsible for converting force into sensory signals that then get sent to the brain. 

With artificial teeth, these receptors disappear. Previous attempts at recovering their function have mainly focused on regenerating the missing ligaments or injured nerves, but none have yet proven effective. 

Han’s team came up with an alternative strategy where the tooth implant is made using piezoelectric materials that can replace the role of natural mechanoreceptors. Their implant has a core made from a piezoelectric material that converts mechanical forces into electrical signals. The researchers chose to make this core out of barium calcium zirconate, a material known to be safe to humans. 

A ceramic crown surrounds the core, protecting it and replicating the role of natural enamel. Both components were 3D-printed and assembled into personalized implants with the exact size and shape needed for each patient. 

The resulting implant mimics the way a real tooth relays sensation to our brain; the higher the pressure put on the piezoelectric core, the higher the electrical signal it generates. Measuring neural activity in mice and humans in real time allowed the research team to model how the implant should respond to different force levels, from very light to really strong. 

First human trials of a new implant showed successful restoration of the full chewing sensation, mimicking a real tooth. Image from 10.1002/advs.202520786.

First trial in humans

To test the implant, Han’s team recruited 23 volunteers at the university’s hospital who were in need of dental implants. With a biting and chewing test, they compared the performance of the 3D-printed implant with that of a commercial implant, and with a natural tooth on the opposite side of the implanted tooth as a control. 

While only a small portion of patients who received a conventional tooth implant responded to biting and continuous chewing tests, those who received the piezoelectric implant showed a performance much more similar to a natural tooth. As many as 90% of patients who received the 3D-printed implant reported having recovered chewing sensation. 

“We have successfully engineered a manufacturing and assembly pathway to fabricate piezoelectric dental implants,” adds Han. “The artificial tooth converts force into electrical signals, shedding light on a solution to a critical clinical dilemma.”

Reference: Yaro Cao et al., An Implanted Tooth That Can Feel, Advanced Science (2026). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202520786

Featured image credit: Marco Verch via Flickr, CC BY 4.0