Tissue engineering: From research to dental clinics

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that combines the principles of engineering, material and biological sciences toward the development of therapeutic strategies and biological substitutes that restore, maintain, replace or improve biological functions. The association of biomaterials, stem cells, growth and differentiation factors has yielded the development of new treatment opportunities in most of the biomedical areas, including Dentistry. The objective of this paper is to present the principles underlying tissue engineering and the current scenario, the challenges and the perspectives of this area in Dentistry. Significance. The growth of tissue engineering as a research field has provided a novel set of therapeutic strategies for biomedical applications. Indeed, tissue engineering may lead to new strategies for the clinical management of patients with dental and craniofacial needs in the future. (C) 2011 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.