Dental Stem Cells: Possibility for Generation of a Bio-tooth

Teeth can be lost due to many reasons including periodontitis, trauma and/or profound caries. Though current treatment modalities such as implantology or prosthesis may provide esthetical and functional restorations of missing teeth, new strategies are required to overcome limitations of traditional treatments towards more biologic treatment methods. Research aiming bio-engineered tooth (bio-tooth) has largely focused on developing functional tooth and attachment apparatus which integrates into bone through a natural periodontal ligament (PDL) employing stem cells. There are several issues, including appropriate scaffold to create tooth structure, proper cell types and optimum growth, and differentiation conditions for cells need to be clarified before realizing stem cell use in clinics. The selection of appropriate stem cells and biomaterials controlling cell functions are highly critical for bio-engineers to construct a whole root/tooth. This chapter will focus on stem cells (dental/oral tissues derived or others), induced pluripotent stem cells and embryonic stem cells which might be used for cell/scaffold based teeth regeneration, and future prospective of stem cells in dentistry.