Recent advances in tissue engineered bio-tooth using stem cells

This review focuses on the current understanding of tooth regeneration using embryonic tooth budderived tissues/cells and adult stem cells, and tissue engineering technologies combined with biomaterials. Tooth development is achieved by sequential and reciprocal interactions between the oral epithelium and the mesenchyme. Especially growth factors, transcription factors and extracellular matrix proteins play key roles during tooth development process. To achieve successful bio-engineered tooth, several different sources for epithelium and mesenchymal stem cells are needed to be assessed their potential efficacy. Next, discussion focuses on cell culture and implantation methods, particularly, medium supplements, gene transfection, chimeric tooth bud and optimized implant regions. At the end, we introduce the various biomaterials designed via biomimetic strategies for tooth regeneration applications. Although currently these approaches have several limitations including abnormal morphology of bio-engineered tooth, the tissue engineering approaches for dental regeneration using stem cells is the significant challenge in dental field. Therefore, the knowledge of the stem cells as well as the biomaterials will help our understanding for the tooth regeneration.