Regenerative Endodontics: Nano 3D scaffolds as Dental Materials and Stem Cells for Dental Tissue Regeneration

Abstract

In dentistry, for maintaining any tissue in a healthy state, focus is on prevention, treatment and repair of the diseased tissue. Current treatments for diseases of tooth structures rely on the use of classical endodontic procedures which in some cases are limited success rate. The use of stem cells in regenerative therapies have been shown to have promising applications in various debilitating diseases like neurodegenerative disease, diabetes, cancer and dental diseases etc. Regenerative dentistry is addressing various complications involves the in vitro creation of cells/tissues for replacement therapy that stimulate the body’s own regenerative capabilities. Regenerative dentistry represents an attractive multidisciplinary therapeutic approach that combines traditional restorative/surgery techniques and benefits from recent advances in stem cell biology, genomics, proteomics and material sciences. Dental Pulp Stem Cells or (DPSCs) are well characterized multipotent stem cells that have the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types used for regenerating the tooth. Regenerating and reengineering the decayed pulp structure requires the design of scaffolding materials that mimic the architecture of a natural dental extracellular matrix (ECM) and provide suitable environments for the attachment, proliferation, differentiation, and biomineralization of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) to grow. Three-dimensional (3D) biocompatible hybrid scaffolds mimic the nano-structured architecture and chemical composition of a natural dental ECM. DPSCs had a significantly higher proliferation rate on 3D hybrid scaffolds. Hybrid scaffolds significantly promote the differentiation and bio mineralization of the human DPSCs. In summary, using the Hybrid Nano 3D scaffolds which provides an excellent environment for the growth and differentiation of human DPSCs and are promising treatment modality in endodontic procedures for dentin/pulp tissue regeneration and restoration of natural tooth.

Keywords: Embryonic Stem Cells (ESC), pluripotent stem (iPS), Dental Pulp Stem Cells, or (DPSCs), (3D) scaffolds