Tooth regeneration is a
stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
based
regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by st ...
procedure in the field of
tissue engineering
Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of cells, engineering, materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintain, improve, or replace different types of biologi ...
and
stem cell biology to replace damaged or lost
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, te ...
by regrowing them from
autologous
Autotransplantation is the organ transplantation, transplantation of Organ (anatomy), organs, Biological tissue, tissues, or even particular proteins from one part of the body to another in the same person (''wikt:auto-, auto-'' meaning "self" ...
stem cells.
As a source of the new bioengineered teeth,
somatic stem cells are collected and reprogrammed to
induced pluripotent stem cell
Induced pluripotent stem cells (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs) are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from a somatic cell. The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka's lab in Kyoto, Japan, who showed ...
s which can be placed in the
dental lamina
The dental lamina is a band of epithelial tissue seen in histologic sections of a developing tooth. The dental lamina is first evidence of tooth development and begins (in humans) at the sixth week in utero or three weeks after the rupture of the ...
directly or placed in a reabsorbable biopolymer in the shape of the new tooth.
History
Young et al.
first demonstrated in 2002 that teeth could be regenerated from cells.
See also
*
Epithelial cell rests of Malassez
*
Polyphyodont
A polyphyodont is any animal whose teeth are continually replaced. In contrast, diphyodonts are characterized by having only two successive sets of teeth.
Polyphyodonts include most toothed fishes, many reptiles such as crocodiles and geckos, a ...
*
Regenerative endodontics
Regenerative endodontic procedures is defined as biologically based procedures designed to replace damaged structures such as dentin, root structures, and cells of the pulp-dentin complex. This new treatment modality aims to promote normal function ...
*
Socket preservation
Socket preservation or alveolar ridge preservation is a procedure to reduce bone loss after tooth extraction. After tooth extraction, the jaw bone has a natural tendency to become narrow, and lose its original shape because the bone quickly reso ...
*
Tooth development
Tooth development or odontogenesis is the complex process by which teeth form from embryonic cells, grow, and erupt into the mouth. For human teeth to have a healthy oral environment, all parts of the tooth must develop during appropriate stag ...
References
Restorative dentistry
Emerging technologies
{{Dentistry-stub