Title: Tissue engineering in endodontics: A first step towards a new era
Abstract:
Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary science that involves the use of biological sciences and engineering to develop tissues that restore, maintain, or enhance tissue function of a tissue or an organ. Initially developed in medicine in the 1980s for skin reconstructions, tissue engineering has extended to odontology and subsequently to endodontics. Endodontic tissue engineering aims to fully regenerate a new vital tissue ad integrum in an empty and previously disinfected root canal space. This approach is complex due to the histological and functional specificity of the dentin pulp complex and the relationships that it maintains with its microenvironment. Tissue engineering of dental pulp relates to key stakeholders such as stem cells, bioactive molecules, and scaffolds. Two techniques are now described in the literature to regenerate the dentin pulp complex. The first approach is to transplant a tissue from tissue engineering or to transplant stem cells associated with/without biomolecules and scaffold. The second called acellular approach lies in the attraction of cells to the site to be regenerated.
