Stem Cell Leads to Tooth Regeneration, Alternative to Dental Implants

Filed in archive Other Biotechnology News on May 21, 2010

© CUMC

Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory scientists from the Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center have been able to develop a potential substitute to dental implants using stem cells grown on a three-dimensional scaffold implant. The scaffold, infused with growth factor, can yield an anatomically correct tooth within nine weeks of implantation.

An animal-model study has shown that by homing stem cells to a scaffold made of natural materials and integrated in surrounding tissue, there is no need to use harvested stem cell lines, or create an environment outside of the body (e.g., a Petri dish) where the tooth is grown and then implanted once it has matured. The tooth instead can be grown "orthotopically," or in the socket where the tooth will integrate with surrounding tissue in ways that are impossible with hard metals or other materials.

Compared to titanium detal implants, cell-homing-based tooth implants can be more cost effective and offer faster recovery times.

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