The paradigm shift of dental treatment by regenerative medicine processing for clinical use

Abstract

Regenerative medicine, which reconstructs tissues using three components, namely––stem cells, scaffolds, and bioactive factors––attempts to revive healthy tissue that has been lost. It is attracting attention as an advanced therapy that will dramatically improve the efficacy of drug therapies that have been ineffective with conventional biopharmaceuticals such as peptides and proteins. Regenerative medicine has been applied clinically, and its effectiveness has led to its inclusion in insurance coverage and its commercialization and has progressed from a “dream treatment” to a “real treatment”, and is advancing as a next-generation medical treatment. In the field of dentistry, bone regeneration is one of the most important issues in dentistry and has obtained good results, as bone loss often occurs due to bone resorption caused by periodontal disease, tumors, trauma, etc. The authors have been conducting clinical applications of regenerative medicine using bone marrow-derived stem cells and dental pulp stem cells, and have obtained favorable results. The indications include alveolar bone regeneration for dental implants, periodontal disease, residual bone defects, and distraction osteogenesis and we have applied bone regeneration to more than 100 patients, including a 13.5-year-long case. The results of this study revealed more rapid bone formation to bone regeneration than expected. This review will touch on the current status of bone regeneration and outline the process of using cell therapy, which is gentle on the body. The development of regenerative medicine in dentistry may lead to social contribution and to a paradigm shift in new treatment methods.