ABSTRACT
Reconstructive treatments in dentistry aimed at achieving complete regeneration of destroyed structures both in soft and hard tissues. To date, this goal has been tried to accomplish using various bone grafts, growth factors, and barrier membranes. Stem cells are the most fascinating area of biology today and have been used clinically in the field of medicine to treat many incurable diseases. The English literature indexed in in the MEDLINE/PubMed database was systematically searched and original papers were critically reviewed on this subject, until the second quarter of 2011. Additional papers were obtained by manual searching reference lists of previously published review papers. More than fifty years ago, the first allogenic hematopoietic stem cell was transplanted in patients. However, the promise of other stem cell populations for tissue replacement and repair remains unachieved. When considering cell-based interventions for tissue regeneration, the factors influencing therapeutic success and safety are more complicated than for traditional treatments. So, it is important for dentists to have a brief understanding about the principles and clinical applications of stem cells in tissue engineering field. This article reviews the most recent published data to regenerate dental and periodontal tissues based on scientific principles and provides fundamental information to readers about the different aspects involved in tissue engineering. Ideal combination of cells, scaffolds, and growth factors for tissue engineering may be extended over future years. The findings collected in this literature review show that we are now at a stage in which engineering a complex tissue, such as the periodontium, is no longer an unachievable goal and the next decade will certainly be an exciting time for dental and periodontal research