Tooth-Tissue Engineering

抄録

Artificial dentition, tooth transplantation, and dental implants are the traditionally prosthetic procedures for tooth replacement. While missing teeth are not life-threatening, the quality of daily life is affected. Recent progress in understanding the molecular basis of tooth development, stem cell biology, and tissue engineering will provide the fundamental knowledge and basis for the realization of engineered teeth in the future. The mechanisms underlying tooth-tissue engineering are still largely unknown. We first reported techniques for the development of tissue engineered teeth in 2002. The long-term goal of our investigations remains the development of viable tissue engineered teeth. Although there are several ways that the engineering of teeth has been attempted, a complete and tissue engineered tooth has not been achieved. Engineered tooth size is smaller than that of normal teeth and only 15% of engineered tooth structures exhibited spatial organized pulp, dental and enamel. This report describes our recent investigations into the production of engineered teeth.