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7 minutes
Dental regeneration with stem cells is a new field that is making its way into dentistry. We tell you what it is.
The teeth in the mouth can get sick, break and even be lost. But today, thanks to advances in research, it is possible to think of dental regeneration with stem cells as an alternative when something is wrong in the oral cavity.
Such important functions as eating, speaking and smiling depend on the participation of the dental pieces. Your integrity is necessary for these activities to run smoothly.
But many times, teeth are damaged by oral diseases such as caries, periodontal disease, bruxism and trauma. The self-repair capacity of dental tissues is very low or almost nil.
That is why finding new alternatives to repair injuries suffered by teeth is promising news. Scientists are exploring the possibility of achieving dental regeneration using stem cells and here we tell you more about it. Read on and find out.
What are Stem cells?
In recent times, stem cells and treatments that include them have gained popularity. There is even controversy and debates of an ethical nature around the uses of this type of technology.
Stem cells can be considered as the most primitive component of our entire organism. From them all the other cells of the body, with their specific functions, have arisen and specialized.
stem cells they have the peculiarity of being able to divide and multiply with differentiation for long periods of time. And being unspecialized, they have the potential to become any type of cell in the body.
In laboratories it is possible to isolate these stem cells. There, in controlled environments, they divide and give rise to new elements: daughter cells.
The daughter cells can take two paths:
- Become new stem cells. It is what is known as self-renewal.
- Differentiate into some specialized cell with a specific function. Blood, brain, heart muscle or bone cells, for example.
Researchers and scientists studying this technique hope to better understand how some diseases develop. They also seek to generate healthy cells that replace the sick ones; is what is known as regenerative medicine. It consists of directing the stem cells to specialize and become the damaged tissue that is intended to be repaired.
They are also helpful when trying and experimenting with new medications. Using the drugs on this type of cells allows testing the safety and quality of the medication on specific tissues.
Where do stem cells come from?
Scientists have discovered several sources of stem cells. Here are some of its possible origins:
- Embryonic stem cell: come from embryos a few days old. They are considered pluripotent, meaning they can divide into more stem cells or become any type of cell in the body. They are the ones used to repair or regenerate damaged tissues.
- Adult stem cells: they are found in small amounts in most adult tissues. They have a more limited ability to give rise to different cells in the body.
- Modified adult cells: They are adult stem cells that are modified in laboratories so that they have the same properties as embryonic stem cells. Through genetic reprogramming, own cells can be used, but pluripotent, being useful to avoid rejection by the immune system.
- Perinatal stem cells: they are stem cells present in the amniotic fluid and in the blood of the umbilical cord. They have the ability to specialize in components of any tissue in the body.
In recent years it has been discovered that the stem cells of the dental pulp, which is the innermost portion of the teeth, and those of the periodontal ligament, have the same characteristics as the mesenchymal cells of the bone marrow. These findings have increased research in this regard.
Well, they have given them importance of medical nature. The ease of obtaining them and the rapidity in their multiplication could place dental stem cells as a field to be considered for the treatment of bone, muscular and neurological pathologies, such as Parkinson’s disease.
Use of stem cells in dentistry
As we have already anticipated, reparative medicine takes advantage of the ability of stem cells to differentiate and specialize. And in this way it is possible to repair damaged or diseased tissues.
For this, scientists grow stem cells in a laboratory and manipulate their differentiation. The new specialized cells are then implanted into the patients.
This type of technique it is also being researched and implemented in the field of dentistry. Below we tell you about the advances in dental regeneration with stem cells.
Recent studies have shown that stem cells of dental origin can differentiate and give rise to various types of tissues. And they multiply at great speed. For this reason, dental pieces are a excellent source of these types of elements.
Stem cells of dental origin have been obtained from 5 different sites: the pulp, the periodontal ligament, exfoliated primary teeth, the dental papilla and the dental follicle.
The development of dental regeneration from stem cells is in the process of research and new discoveries. But at present, its use is focused on surgical and endodontic areas.
Scope of dental regeneration with stem cells
Dental regeneration with stem cells can be used at various levels that are still being studied. These are some of the possible tissues on which the technique could be applied:
- Woven bone: stem cells could differentiate to regenerate bone of the craniofacial complex. This is useful for treating bone deficiencies in the jaws, intervening in maxillofacial trauma and dealing with cleft lip and palate in a new way.
- Dentin and pulp: stem cells can differentiate into odontoblasts capable of forming new dentin or repairing damaged pulp tissue. Preserving the vitality of the teeth is one of the great changes posed by this type of therapy that would revolutionize endodontics.
- periodontal ligament: Stem cells isolated from the periodontal ligament can differentiate into adipocytes, cementoblasts, and collagen-forming cells. In addition, new bone formation has been achieved in areas affected by periodontitis by implanting stem cells, being a therapy promising for the treatment of pyorrhea.
- Teeth: Experimental studies seek that adult stem cells with the appropriate stimulation can give rise to a tooth and the bone tissue that surrounds it. Through a system, the trajectory of the cells is directed in a three-dimensional mold that is placed in the patient’s own oral cavity, where the new dental element would emerge.
Achieving this type of treatment would definitively change oral rehabilitation. Well, with the simple placement of a prepared implant under the patient’s gum, without drilling the bone, a new piece could be developed.
The new element would be included in the oral system with all the supporting components equal to one’s own tooth. With radiographic follow-ups, orthodontics and conventional restorations, the appropriate eruption and aesthetics would be achieved so that the created piece integrates into the arch without inconveniences.
The challenge of dental regeneration with stem cells
Dental stem cells show a promising future when it comes to treating injuries and damage in the mouth. Preserving the vitality of the dental pulp, achieving the support of the teeth through a healthy periodontium and replacing dental absences with new teeth that are the same as the original ones begins to be a not too distant possibility.
New advances in the field of dental regeneration using stem cells suggest that The dental treatments that we know today will undergo notable changes. Therapeutics will be safer, less invasive and will not cause patient rejection. Well, the cells used will be the person’s own.
There is still much to investigate, test and experiment. But this new dentistry is not so distant.
Today it is necessary to continue studying and experimenting in laboratories, but dental repair and regeneration from stem cells is very close. These hypotheses are getting closer to reality and they will be able to enter the usual dentistry in not too long.
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