Regenerative Dentistry: Current Status and Future Scope

Abstract

Regenerative dentistry is a rapidly evolving treatment approach in dentistry, intended to bring back the original structure and function of defective tissues. The basic strategy is to utilize the inherent regenerative potential of progenitor cells within dental tissues through the prudent use of biomaterials-based scaffolds. Regenerative dentistry has evolved through decades of systematic observations, case studies and biomaterial development. The core concepts of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering were incorporated to improve the predictability of new tissue formation. Regenerative approaches have led to the development of novel functional biomaterials, biomolecules and engineered scaffold systems with promising potential towards regeneration. In this scenario, a thorough knowledge about the dental progenitor cell population, and their responses to various biomaterial systems is invaluable. In addition, the isolation and characterization of tooth-derived cells, and the development of in vitro cell culture systems can provide immense advantage in the understanding of host tissue responses to the biomaterial-based scaffolds. This review is an attempt to describe the established methods and evolving concepts of dental tissue regeneration. In the initial section, various dental tissues are introduced along with the challenges encountered in the management of tissue defects. The conceptualization of dental tissue regeneration and the conventional regenerative approaches of dental pulp and periodontium are explained in the following section. Further, methods of harnessing the regenerative potential of the tooth-derived cells are provided. The types of tooth-derived cells, procedures for isolation and culture of the cells and the importance of their characterization and differentiation are described in the subsequent sections. Thereafter, endogenous regenerative approaches using conventional and bioactive biomaterials, biofunctionalized matrices and novel biomaterial systems are discussed. The review concludes with a note on the future directions towards novel biomaterial designs and cell-based methods for dental regeneration.