Abstract
Developments in regenerative medicine using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are rapidly and widely progressing, with transplantation therapy using iPS cells initiated in Japan. A questionnaire regarding tissue engineering and regenerative medicine was given to guardians of patients visiting the pediatric dental clinic of a university hospital in 2010 and again in 2014. In this study, we compared responses to the questionnaire between the administered years in order to understand changes in awareness of regenerative medicine and the level of interest in dental pulp cell banking among the guardians of the patients. Our results indicate that awareness regarding the terms “regenerative medicine” and “iPS cells” has been raised, indicating the spread of related information. However, awareness regarding the use of dental pulp cells in regenerative medicine and for generation of iPS cells was found to be quite low, and scarcely increased between 2010 and 2014. The percentage of guardians who had knowledge about dental pulp cell banking was also quite low in both periods. However, among those with awareness of banking of dental pulp cells, interest was high regardless of the year of survey. Wide dissemination of information showing that cells derived from teeth and oral tissues can be an effective resource for use in regenerative medicine will be indispensable for promotion of modern techniques in the field of dentistry.
