Tissue Engineering for the Temporomandibular Joint

Abstract

Tissue engineering potentially offers new treatments for disorders of the temporomandibular joint which frequently afflict patients. Damage or disease in this area adversely affects masticatory function and speaking, reducing patients' quality of life. Effective treatment options for patients suffering from severe temporomandibular joint disorders are in high demand because surgical options are restricted to removal of damaged tissue or complete replacement of the joint with prosthetics. Tissue engineering approaches for the temporomandibular joint are a promising alternative to the limited clinical treatment options. However, tissue engineering is still a developing field and only in its formative years for the temporomandibular joint. This review outlines the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the temporomandibular joint, clinical management of temporomandibular joint disorder, and current perspectives in the tissue engineering approach for the temporomandibular joint disorder. The tissue engineering perspectives have been categorized according to the primary structures of the temporomandibular joint: the disc, the mandibular condyle, and the glenoid fossa. In each section, contemporary approaches in cellularization, growth factor selection, and scaffold fabrication strategies are reviewed in detail along with their achievements and challenges.

Therapeutic Agents for the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: Progress and Perspective

“…For the severe types of TMD, such as internal derangement, disc thinning, disc perforation, and osteochondral damage of condyle, regenerative tissue engineering approaches are in demand. Such systems typically consist of bioactive agents, including scaffold, cells, and/or GFs (Donahue et al, 2019;Aryaei et al, 2016;Acri et al, 2019).…”

Future of minimally invasive surgery in temporomandibular joint pathology

“…Nowadays, mesenchymal stem cells could be considered as the latest "research trend" in the field of biology and medicine and their application in regenerative medicine is growing. Some modalities involve direct implantation of mesenchymal stem cells into the defect site while others use scaffolds to support the cells [37,38] . Vapniarsky et al [39] approached anatomic defects by using scaffold free tissue engineering as an approach for the regeneration of TMJ discs to address disc thinning in the pathogenesis of TMJ degeneration.…”

Nonsurgical Strategies for the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

“…In recent past years, detailed and exhaustive reviews have been published covering all the relevant data about the experimental [75], technical aspects, and indications of tissue engineering in TMJ [76][77][78][79][80][81]. Therefore, this section only summarizes the most relevant aspects of tissue engineering of TMJ using minimally invasive techniques.…”