Application of dental stem cells in regenerative medicine

Abstract

Recent discoveries in the field of stem cells place dental professionals at the forefront of helping their patients with potentially life-saving therapies derived from a patient′s own stem cells obtained from deciduous or permanent teeth. Stem cells have opened doors of great hope in that these cells produced in large quantities through cell cultures could be injected into failing tissues and organs, which would replace these damaged cells with fresh ones. The emerging field of personalized medicine has focused on the ability of stem cells to grow and regenerate tissues using a patient′s own stem cells for biologically compatible therapies and individually tailored treatments. This review discusses the information available on the different types of dental stem cells (DSCs) and their potential role in both dental and medical regenerative therapies.