The crowning achievement: getting to the root of the problem.
An ideal goal of oral-craniofacial dental reconstructive therapy is to establish treatment modalities that predictably restore functional tissues. One major area of focus has been in the area of dental materials with marked improvements in the design of materials used to restore teeth/periodontium/bone lost as a consequence of disease or disorders. With advances in understanding the cell and molecular controls for development and regeneration of tooth structures, it is now possible to consider therapies that promote regeneration of lost tissues, along with replacement of these tissues. This review presents a background on our current knowledge as to the composition of the tooth/periodontium followed by a discussion on successes to date, both in vitro and in vivo, toward regenerating a whole tooth and next steps required to regenerate a functional tooth.
Fong
Hanson K
HK
School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Box 356365, Seattle, WA 98195-6365, USA. somerman@u.washington.edu
Foster
Brian L
BL
Popowics
Tracy E
TE
Somerman
Martha J
MJ
D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D010519:Periodontium / Q000502:physiology; D012038:Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D019228:Tooth Crown / Q000502:physiology; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000502:physiology
D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins