Stem Cell Research: Advanced Dental Stem Cell Therapy Enables Teeth to Repair Themselves

A team of scientists from University of Nottingham and Harvard University found a stem cell therapy that will benefit for dental purposes.

According to researcher, the current dental fillings system might be harmful to cells - which are not compatible with 'pulp tissue inside the tooth'. With the dental stem cells put inside the tooth, it will repair and generate the dentin.

How dental stem cell therapy repairs teeth

Our teeth have an outside layer called enamel. Below this enamel, there is dentin - a tissue that covers the pulp that consists of blood vessels and nerves.

When there is a cavity, it 'consumes' the enamel layer and dentin - reaching in the pulp and causes toothache. The current approach requires drilling the decay and put a filling. If this process fails, dentist has to perform root canal procedure to remove the infected tissue- and it will likely cause more damage to the tooth. Scientists describe today's dental filling procedure as 'toxic to cells' and incompatible with pulp. With the new synthetic biomaterials, it can stimulate the pulp to regrow and regenerate itself. It will be a great benefit for those getting cavities.

Dental stem cell therapy: a promise in dental field

The stem cell research of synthetic biomaterials has won the second prize in Royal Society of Chemistry's Emerging Technologies Competition 2016, for developing synthetic dental biomaterials - a dental treatment that uses stem cells for therapies and dentin regeneration.

The stem cell therapy can have a potential impact and improve dental treatments since synthetic biomaterials can be used similarly to dental filling, according to the official Emerging Technologies Competition website. This finding is said to be very promising for dental practices in the future although it has not yet been published in peer reviewed journal.

How much do you think this stem cell therapy would cost a patient at a dental clinic?