Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Establishing Organoids from Human Tooth as a Powerful Tool Toward Mechanistic Research and Regenerative Therapy
Published on: April 13, 2022
Recent Bioengineering Strategies and Clinical Applications in Dentistry of Oral and Maxillofacial Organoids
Mahtab Mottaghi1, Amir Attaran Khorasani1, Shahrzad Samadian2
1School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Introduction And Aims:
The complex, interconnected nature of dental, oral, and craniofacial tissues poses significant challenges for conventional in vitro models. Oral and maxillofacial organoids have emerged as advanced three-dimensional technologies capable of reproducing selected microstructures and biological functions of native tissues. This review aimed to summarize recent advances in these technologies and evaluate their potential clinical applications in dentistry.
Methods:
A narrative literature review was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, with particular focus on studies published between 2020 and 2026. The search terms included 'organoids', 'oral and maxillofacial diseases', 'tissue engineering', 'regeneration', and 'precision medicine'. Relevant studies addressing organoid development, bioengineering strategies, and clinical applications in dentistry were analysed.
Results:
Recent advances have enabled the development of various oral and maxillofacial organoids, including tooth-germ, salivary gland, taste bud, oral cancer, lingual epithelial, and maxillofacial cartilage organoids. Advances in patient-derived organoids through construction strategies, such as spontaneous self-assembly of stem cells, biomaterial-assisted fabrication, and precision engineering, enhance their physiological properties and support personalized medicine. Despite these advances, several challenges remain that restrict clinical translation, including limited vascularization, lack of immune system integration, structural variability, scalability, and standardization issues.
Conclusion:
Oral and maxillofacial organoids represent promising experimental platforms for regenerative dentistry, disease modelling, drug screening, and tissue regeneration. Combining organoids with microfluidic technologies to create organ-on-a-chip devices and linking multiple chips represents important advances towards the reliable, large-scale generation of physiologically relevant oral and maxillofacial organoids for both research and clinical applications.
Clinical Relevance:
Oral organoid systems may provide clinical platforms for personalized therapy, regenerative applications, and translational research while reducing reliance on conventional animal models. Among current models, oral cancer and salivary gland organoids demonstrate promising translational potential, given their functional validation and scalability.
