Tooth regeneration
Tooth regeneration is an emerging approach in regenerative medicine that aims to replace missing or damaged teeth through the bioengineering of new dental tissues using autologous stem cells. In this process, somatic cells are reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells, which possess embryonic-like pluripotency and can differentiate into multiple cell lineages. These cells can subsequently be directed toward odontogenic differentiation and seeded either within the native tooth-forming region (dental lamina) or onto a resorbable biopolymer scaffold designed to mimic tooth architecture.
This approach represents a paradigm shift from conventional restorative dentistry, which relies on artificial replacements such as fillings, dentures, and implants, toward biologically based regeneration of functional tooth structures. Experimental models, particularly rodents such as mice and rats, have been extensively used to study tooth development due to their continuously growing incisors, which provide valuable insight into epithelial–mesenchymal interactions and stem cell maintenance during odontogenesis.
The clinical significance of tooth regeneration lies in the limitations of current treatment modalities for tooth loss, which primarily restore structure rather than biological function. Although conventional prosthetic and implant-based therapies are effective, they do not replicate the regenerative capacity or native physiology of natural teeth. Tooth loss remains highly prevalent globally, affecting a substantial proportion of adults, particularly older populations. While no clinically available therapy currently enables complete human tooth regeneration, advances in stem cell biology, including embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, RNA-based technologies, and biomineralisation strategies, indicate growing potential for future clinical translation.