Driving emerging technology to clinical impact

Dental, oral, and craniofacial regenerative medicine has benefitted from fundamental scientific discoveries, yet the resulting technologies and therapies do not always generate the anticipated clinical impact. Despite robust progress and substantial investment in biomaterials and tissue engineering, few breakthroughs have achieved widespread adoption in the clinical arena.

The authors analyzed the translational bottlenecks, such as regulatory complexity, gaps in meaningful clinical evidence, and economic and cultural barriers, that have limited the impact of even US Food and Drug Administration-approved technologies.

The authors highlight successful strategies from the Translational Resource Center, emphasize the importance of milestone-driven development and early clinical and stakeholder input, and propose a right-to-left translational paradigm that frames clinical adoption as the ultimate goal from project inception.

By means of advocating for clinical evidence and outcomes that resonate with both patients and providers, the authors outlined a new road map for bridging the gap between emerging technologies and clinical impact.