Tooth loss due to periodontitis, traumatic injury, or deep caries can cause
facial aesthetic problems and difficulties with mastication. The ultimate goal of dental
prosthetic treatment is to generate fully functioning organs to replace dental tissue that
has been lost or damaged due to disease, injury or aging. Tissue engineering is a rapidly
expanding field of applied biology and biomedical sciences, which aims to replace
defective tissues with newly-generated tissue by combining cells, scaffolds, and
biologically active molecules. Stem cells hold great promise for tissue engineering
owing to their multipotency and self-renewal ability. In this article, we will present the
current progress in stem cell-based dental tissue regeneration and elaborate on the
potential of dental stem cells for clinical application.
Keywords: Alveolar bone, apical papilla, biological signals, bone marrowderived
mesenchymal stem cells, cementum, clinical application, dental follicle,
dental stem cells, dentin, exfoliated deciduous teeth, gingiva, multipotency, neural
crest, periodontal ligament, pulp, regeneration, repair, scaffolds, self-renewal,
tooth.
