Dental Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dental, including details on implants, health, hygiene, cosmetic, dentistry.

Bioengineered periodontal tissue formed on titanium dental implants.

Lin Y, Gallucci GO, Buser D, Bosshardt D, Belser UC, Yelick PC

Division of Craniofacial and Molecular Genetics, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Tufts University, 136 Harrison Avenue, Room M824, Boston, MA 02111, USA.

The ability to use autologous dental progenitor cells (DPCs) to form organized periodontal tissues on titanium implants would be a significant improvement over current implant therapies. Based on prior experimental results, we hypothesized that rat periodontal ligament (PDL)-derived DPCs can be used to bioengineer PDL tissues on titanium implants in a novel, in vivo rat maxillary molar implant model. Analyses of recovered implants revealed organized PDL tissues surrounding titanium implant surfaces in PDL-cell-seeded, and not in unseeded control, implants. Rat PDL DPCs also exhibited differentiative potential characteristic of stem cells. These proof-of-principle findings suggest that PDL DPCs can organize periodontal tissues in the jaw, at the site of previously lost teeth, indicating that this method holds potential as an alternative approach to osseointegrated dental implants. Further refinement of this approach will facilitate the development of clinically relevant methods for autologous PDL regeneration on titanium implants in humans.

Published 28 January 2011 in J Dent Res, 90(2): 251-6.
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