Applications of stem cells in interdisciplinary dentistry and beyond: An overview

Abstract

In medicine stem cell–based treatments are being used in conditions like Parkinson's disease, neural degeneration following brain injury, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. In dentistry, recent exciting discoveries have isolated dental stem cells from the pulp of the deciduous and permanent teeth, from the periodontal ligament, and an associated healthy tooth structure, to cure a number of diseases. The aim of the study was to review the applications of stem cells in various fields of dentistry, with emphasis on its banking, and to understand how dental stem cells can be used for regeneration of oral and non-oral tissues conversely. A Medline search was done including the international literature published between 1989 and 2011. It was restricted to English language articles and published work of past researchers including in vitro and in vivo studies. Google search on dental stem cell banking was also done. Our understanding of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in the tissue engineering of systemic, dental, oral, and craniofacial structures has advanced tremendously. Dental professionals have the opportunity to make their patients aware of these new sources of stem cells that can be stored for future use, as new therapies are developed for a range of diseases and injuries. Recent findings and scientific research articles support the use of MSC autologously within teeth and other accessible tissue harvested from oral cavity without immunorejection. A future development of the application of stem cells in interdisciplinary dentistry requires a comprehensive research program.

Preparation and Characterization of Porous Hydroxyapatite and Alginate Composite Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

“…Tissue engineering involves cells that are taken from a human body, and then seeding them onto a scaffold and implanting them into the body where they grow and eventually become new bone tissue. In artificial tissue construction and regeneration, growing cells with an engineered scaffold should enhance the development of artificial tissues [7][8][9]. Therefore, the scaffolds should mimic the bone structure and provide space (pores) for the seeded cells.…”

Odontogenic epithelial stem cells: hidden sources

“…68 The regeneration of non-dental tissues of critical value, such as the cornea, cardiac cells, neurons, pancreatic islets, and retina, from oral and DSCs will have favorable results in the near future because of their embryonic origin. [18][19][20][21][22][23]43 The current treatment protocols for dental defects by either the fillings with biocompatible materials or the tooth replacement with dental implants are well established with standard techniques, which are economically affordable and ethically safe. Clinical studies on human dental tissue regeneration should target acceptable and easy procedures for application in regenerative medicine with nano-structured materials as reported by Mitsiadis et al 69 and Mitsiadis and Papagerakis.…”

“…3,9,[13][14][15][16][17] Many reports have described the multi-potentiality and possible applications of mesenchymal DSCs in dental and non-dental tissue regeneration. [18][19][20][21][22][23] [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Their uniqueness of development from CNCCs explains their multilineage differentiation characteristics.…”

Osteoinductive Activity of Bone Scaffold Bioceramic Companied with Control Release of VEGF Protein Treated Dental stem cells as A New Concept for Bone Regeneration: Part II

“…All these properties make them a good tool extending far beyond regenerative medicine4). DSCs are considered excellent candidate stem cells for hard and soft tissue regeneration and organ transplantation in BTE 4) . Easy isolation, culturing and cryopreservation with retained multipotential differentiation make them an attractive source of stem cell for tissue engineering capability to generating bone beside dental tissue 5,7) .…”

“…Successful solutions for identifying and solving problems associated with translating stem cell research into clinical practice are considered a major breakthrough in stem cell biological study 3). Dental stem cells (DSCs) have great potential in bone tissue strategies because of their high proliferative ability 4) . Another advantage of DSCs is the decreased morbidity during their harvesting since they are derived from extracted teeth 5) .…”