Dental Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine: Clinical and Pre-clinical Attempts

Dental stem cells (DSCs) are derived from embryonic ectodermal tissues. Five types of DSCs have been isolated from adult and embryonic-like dental tissues. The principal aim of this book chapter is to shed light on and summarize the results obtained from clinical studies of DSCs. However, our search of scientific literature demonstrated that to date, the vast majority of in vivo applications have been performed on animal models, and very few clinical trials have been or are being attempted. Results revealed that DSCs are a suitable adult stem cell source, mostly employed for dental and bone tissue regeneration but their potential has not fully been exploited yet. The reasons for this delayed clinical translation are that a common protocol to isolate and characterize DSCs is largely lacking, and many researchers are still using animal derivatives for stem cell isolation and culture, causing some concerns related to pathogenic, toxic or immunogenic contaminants. In addition, traditional cell culture methods are still widely used, leading to reduced DSC selection reliability and repeatability, and thus their clinical trial usage. Moreover, since it is generally accepted that clinical trials are long, difficult and expensive processes compromising many hurdles that could discourage even the most committed researcher, it might be helpful to simplify and standardize the procedures to favor clinical trials. However, along with our efforts to translate stem cell therapy from the bench to the bed-side, we must ensure that these therapies are safe by performing lots of in vitro and in vivo works.