Tooth bioengineering leads the next generation of dentistry

Amir Rajae Belarusian State Medical University, Minsk

2016-2017

As a result of numerous rapid and exciting developments in tissue engineering technology, scientists are able to regenerate a fully functional tooth in animal models, from a bioengineered tooth germ. Advances in technology, together with our understanding of the mechanisms of tooth development and studies dealing with dentally derived stem cells, have led to significant progress in the field of tooth regeneration

Background

In general, the goal of regenerative medicine is to develop fully functioning bioengineered organs to replace organs that have been lost or damaged. Thus, the need to achieve a three-dimensional reconstruction of the target organ becomes one of the major concerns.

Bioengineered tooth technology

One of the three-dimensional tissue engineering methods used seeds tooth germ cells into prefabricated tooth-shaped scaffolds made of biodegradable materials.

approachestooth-shaped scaffolds

Another group of researcher reported on the effectiveness of using a collagen sponge as a scaffold, and then sequentially seeding epithelial, and mesenchymal cells

collagen sponge

The other approach that has been utilized in ontogenesis reconstitutes teeth by aggregating a bioengineered tooth germ and growing it in mouse mandibles and maxillae

Functional tooth regeneration

Generation of a bioengineered tooth unit

the bioengineered tooth germs were found to erupt into the oral cavity until they occluded with their counterparts in the opposing jaw. Not only did the bio-tooth have all of the dental structures such as dentin, enamel, dental pulp, blood vessels, PDLs, and a crown and root, but it also functioned with response to the mechanical stresses placed on it

What will for human future

All of the studies Showed Embryonic tooth germs to reconstitute bioengineered teeth, which indicates that stem cells could be used in the future to replace missing teeth in humans.

Stem cell sources for tooth regeneration

1. Bone marrow–derived stem cells (BMSC)2. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSC)3. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous

teeth(SHED)4. Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC)5. Stem cells from the dental follicle (DFSC)6. Stem cells from the apical part of the

papilla(SCAP)7. Epithelial stem cells8. Reprogramming of adult differentiated cells9. …..

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