Tissue-engineered ligament: implant constructs for tooth replacement
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Updated: Jun 12, 2026
Treatment of Ligament Constructs with Exercise-conditioned Serum: A Translational Tissue Engineering Model
Published on: June 11, 2017
Philippe Gault1, Annie Black, Jean-Louis Romette
1Natural Implant, 38 rue Jim Sevellec, Brest, France.
Aim:
A tissue-engineered periodontal ligament (PDL) around implants would represent an important new therapeutic tool to replace lost teeth. The PDL is the key to tooth anchoring; it connects tooth root and alveolar bone, and it sustains bone formation.
Materials And Methods:
Cells were isolated from PDL and cultured in a bioreactor on titanium pins. After the formation of multiple cellular layers, pins were implanted in enlarged dental alveolae.
Main Outcome Measures:
Cell-covered implants integrated without adverse effects, and induced bone in their vicinity.
Results:
A histological examination of a dog model revealed that cells were arranged in a typical ligament-like fashion. In human patients, product safety was ascertained for 6-60 months. Probing and motility assessments suggested that the implants were well integrated with mechanical properties similar to those of teeth. Radiographs demonstrated the regeneration of deficient alveolar bone, the development of a lamina dura adjacent to a mineral-devoid space around the implant and implant migration in an intact bone structure.
Conclusions:
New tissue consistent with PDL developed on the surface of dental implants after implantation. This proof-of-principal investigation demonstrates the application of ligament-anchored implants, which have potential advantages over osseointegrated oral implants.
