Regenerative dental medicine: stem cells and tissue engineering in dentistry

The dawn of this century is brightened by the growing understanding and experimentation with stem cells as primary tools in the expanding regenerative medicine and tissue engineering revolution. The tradition of using prosthetic artificial implants to restore lost or damaged dental tissue will gradually be supplanted by more natural alternatives, including biological tooth replacement or induction. The practice of dentistry is likely to be revolutionized by biological therapies based on growth and differentiation factors that accelerate and/or induce a natural biological regeneration. This prospect has flourished from the gained knowledge provided by the molecular biological characterization of the genetic makeup of human cells and from a growing understanding of the effect of environmental factors. Prevention of dental diseases will also gain new ground as more insight is gained into the genetic makeup of microbial pathogens, their interactions with the host, and the host repair mechanisms. This review summarizes current knowledge, barriers, and challenges in the clinical use of stem cells with an emphasis on applications in dentistry.