Teeth Tissue Engineering: a Study on Seed Cells, Scaffold Materials, and Growth Factors

Weijin Yan

doi:10.54254/2753-8818/2025.SH25957

Theoretical and Natural ScienceOpen access

Teeth Tissue Engineering: a Study on Seed Cells, Scaffold Materials, and Growth Factors

Research Article

Open Access

Teeth Tissue Engineering: a Study on Seed Cells, Scaffold Materials, and Growth Factors

Weijin Yan ^1*

¹ University of Glasgow

^*Corresponding author: yanweijin00@163.com

Published on 13 August 2025

TNS Vol.131

ISSN (Print): 2753-8826

ISSN (Online): 2753-8818

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-291-1

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-292-8

Download Cover

Abstract

Tooth defects can cause severe pain, infection, and impaired daily functions, significantly affecting the quality of life for patients. Although traditional root canal treatment can prolong the lifespan of a damaged tooth, it cannot fully restore the biological activity and tissue integrity of the teeth. Dental tissue engineering, as a cutting-edge regenerative medical strategy, is of great significance for restoring the natural structure and function of teeth. It aims to achieve the regeneration and repair of dental hard and soft tissues through interdisciplinary approaches. It comprises three key elements: seed cells, scaffold materials, and growth factors. This article reviews the current developments in this field, systematically elaborating on the differentiation potential of seed cells in dental regeneration. It evaluates the performance of various scaffold materials in supporting cell adhesion, proliferation, and mineralization. It introduces the crucial role of growth factors in inducing seed cells to differentiate into cementoblasts and osteoblasts. This article aims to promote the translation of dental tissue engineering into clinical practice, providing a more effective treatment plan for patients with tooth defects.

Keywords:

Teeth Tissue Engineering, Seed Cells, Scaffold Materials, Growth Factors

View PDF

References

[1]. Jing, G., J.H. Ban, L. Gang, et al.(2018). Status of Tooth Loss and Denture Restoration in Chinese Adult Population: Findings from the 4th National Oral Health Survey. Chinese Journal of Dental Research, 21(4).

[2]. Yelick, P.C. and P.T. Sharpe.(2019). Tooth Bioengineering and Regenerative Dentistry. J Dent Res, 98(11): p. 1173-1182.

[3]. Zhai, Q., Z. Dong, W. Wang, et al.(2019). Dental stem cell and dental tissue regeneration. Front Med, 13(2): p. 152-159.

[4]. Jazayeri, H.E., S.M. Lee, L. Kuhn, et al.(2020). Polymeric scaffolds for dental pulp tissue engineering: A review. Dent Mater, 36(2): p. e47-e58.

[5]. Monteiro, N. and P.C. Yelick.(2017). Advances and perspectives in tooth tissue engineering. J Tissue Eng Regen Med, 11(9): p. 2443-2461.

[6]. Yamada, Y., S. Nakamura-Yamada, R. Konoki, et al.(2020). Promising advances in clinical trials of dental tissue-derived cell-based regenerative medicine. Stem cell research & therapy, 11: p. 1-10.

[7]. Rahimnejad, M., H. Makkar, R. Dal‐Fabbro, et al.(2024). Biofabrication strategies for oral soft tissue regeneration. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 13(18): p. 2304537.

[8]. Nguyen-Thi, T.-D., B.-H. Nguyen-Huynh, T.-T. Vo-Hoang, et al.(2023). Stem cell therapies for periodontal tissue regeneration: A meta-analysis of clinical trials. Journal of Oral Biology and Craniofacial Research, 13(5): p. 589-597.

[9]. Yuan, W., L.d.A.Q. Ferreira, B. Yu, et al.(2024). Dental-derived stem cells in tissue engineering: the role of biomaterials and host response. Regenerative Biomaterials, 11: p. rbad100.

[10]. Botelho, J., M.A. Cavacas, V. Machado, et al.(2017). Dental stem cells: recent progresses in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Ann Med, 49(8): p. 644-651.

[11]. Gronthos, S., M. Mankani, J. Brahim, et al.(2000). Postnatal human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in vitro and in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(25): p. 13625-13630.

[12]. Mata, M., S. Peydró, J.J.M. de Llano, et al.(2022). Human dental pulp stem cells differentiate into cementoid-like-secreting cells on decellularized teeth scaffolds. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(24): p. 15588.

[13]. Kim, I.-H., M. Jeon, K. Cheon, et al.(2021). In vivo evaluation of decellularized human tooth scaffold for dental tissue regeneration. Applied Sciences, 11(18): p. 8472.

[14]. Guo, W., K. Gong, H. Shi, et al.(2012). Dental follicle cells and treated dentin matrix scaffold for tissue engineering the tooth root. Biomaterials, 33(5): p. 1291-302.

[15]. Liu, L., Y. Wen, L. Chen, et al.(2024). Xenogenous implanted dental follicle stem cells promote periodontal regeneration through inducing the N2 phenotype of neutrophils. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 15(1): p. 270.

[16]. Hu, L., Y. Liu, and S. Wang.(2018). Stem cell-based tooth and periodontal regeneration. Oral Dis, 24(5): p. 696-705.

[17]. Sonoyama, W., Y. Liu, D. Fang, et al.(2006). Mesenchymal stem cell-mediated functional tooth regeneration in swine. PloS one, 1(1): p. e79.

[18]. Yang, H., J. Fan, Y. Cao, et al.(2019). Distal-less homeobox 5 promotes the osteo-/dentinogenic differentiation potential of stem cells from apical papilla by activating histone demethylase KDM4B through a positive feedback mechanism. Experimental Cell Research, 374(1): p. 221-230.

[19]. Zhao, J., Y.-H. Zhou, Y.-Q. Zhao, et al.(2023). Oral cavity-derived stem cells and preclinical models of jaw-bone defects for bone tissue engineering. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 14(1): p. 39.

[20]. Calabrese, T.C., K. Rothermund, C.M. Gabe, et al.(2024). Self-assembly of tooth root organoid from postnatal human dental stem cells. Tissue Engineering Part A, 30(9-10): p. 404-414.

[21]. Sharma, S., D. Srivastava, S. Grover, et al.(2014). Biomaterials in tooth tissue engineering: a review. J Clin Diagn Res, 8(1): p. 309-15.

[22]. Moussa, D.G. and C. Aparicio.(2019). Present and future of tissue engineering scaffolds for dentin-pulp complex regeneration. J Tissue Eng Regen Med, 13(1): p. 58-75.

[23]. Prescott, R.S., R. Alsanea, M.I. Fayad, et al.(2008). In vivo generation of dental pulp-like tissue by using dental pulp stem cells, a collagen scaffold, and dentin matrix protein 1 after subcutaneous transplantation in mice. Journal of endodontics, 34(4): p. 421-426.

[24]. Hu, L., D. Cheng, X. Yuan, et al.(2024). Engineered pre-dentin with well-aligned hierarchical mineralized collagen fibril bundles promote bio-root regeneration. Journal of Tissue Engineering, 15: p. 20417314241280961.

[25]. Roi, A., L.C. Ardelean, C.I. Roi, et al.(2019). Oral Bone Tissue Engineering: Advanced Biomaterials for Cell Adhesion, Proliferation and Differentiation. Materials (Basel), 12(14).

[26]. Feng, X., X. Lu, D. Huang, et al.(2014). 3D porous chitosan scaffolds suit survival and neural differentiation of dental pulp stem cells. Cellular and molecular neurobiology, 34: p. 859-870.

[27]. Yang, X., G. Han, X. Pang, et al.(2020). Chitosan/collagen scaffold containing bone morphogenetic protein‐7 DNA supports dental pulp stem cell differentiation in vitro and in vivo. Journal of biomedical materials research Part A, 108(12): p. 2519-2526.

[28]. Felszeghy, S., M. Hyttinen, R. Tammi, et al.(2000). Quantitative image analysis of hyaluronan expression in human tooth germs. European journal of oral sciences, 108(4): p. 320-326.

[29]. Ahmadian, E., A. Eftekhari, S.M. Dizaj, et al.(2019). The effect of hyaluronic acid hydrogels on dental pulp stem cells behavior. International journal of biological macromolecules, 140: p. 245-254.

[30]. Pilipchuk, S.P., A.B. Plonka, A. Monje, et al.(2015). Tissue engineering for bone regeneration and osseointegration in the oral cavity. Dent Mater, 31(4): p. 317-38.

[31]. Gu, Y., Y. Bai, and D. Zhang.(2018). Osteogenic stimulation of human dental pulp stem cells with a novel gelatin‐hydroxyapatite‐tricalcium phosphate scaffold. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A, 106(7): p. 1851-1861.

[32]. Young, C., S. Terada, J. Vacanti, et al.(2002). Tissue engineering of complex tooth structures on biodegradable polymer scaffolds. Journal of dental research, 81(10): p. 695-700.

[33]. Li, G., T. Zhou, S. Lin, et al.(2017). Nanomaterials for Craniofacial and Dental Tissue Engineering. J Dent Res, 96(7): p. 725-732.

[34]. Yang, X., F. Yang, X.F. Walboomers, et al.(2010). The performance of dental pulp stem cells on nanofibrous PCL/gelatin/nHA scaffolds. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A: An Official Journal of The Society for Biomaterials, The Japanese Society for Biomaterials, and The Australian Society for Biomaterials and the Korean Society for Biomaterials, 93(1): p. 247-257.

[35]. Gupte, M. and P. Ma.(2012). Nanofibrous scaffolds for dental and craniofacial applications. Journal of dental research, 91(3): p. 227-234.

[36]. Talaat, S., A.A. Hashem, A. Abu-Seida, et al.(2024). Regenerative potential of mesoporous silica nanoparticles scaffold on dental pulp and root maturation in immature dog’s teeth: a histologic and radiographic study. BMC Oral Health, 24(1): p. 817.

[37]. Kaigler, D., J.A. Cirelli, and W.V. Giannobile.(2006). Growth factor delivery for oral and periodontal tissue engineering. Expert Opin Drug Deliv, 3(5): p. 647-62.

[38]. Duncan, H.F., Y. Kobayashi, and E. Shimizu.(2018). Growth factors and cell homing in dental tissue regeneration. Current oral health reports, 5: p. 276-285.

[39]. Ahmed, G.M., E.A. Abouauf, N. AbuBakr, et al.(2020). Tissue Engineering Approaches for Enamel, Dentin, and Pulp Regeneration: An Update. Stem Cells Int, 2020: p. 5734539.

[40]. Tan, Q., Y. Cao, X. Zheng, et al.(2021). BMP4-regulated human dental pulp stromal cells promote pulp-like tissue regeneration in a decellularized dental pulp matrix scaffold. Odontology, 109(4): p. 895-903.

[41]. AC, S.A. and M.S. Islam.(2024). Potential Role of BMP7 in Regenerative Dentistry. International Dental Journal.

[42]. Widbiller, M., A. Rosendahl, M. Wölflick, et al.(2022). Isolation of endogenous TGF-β1 from root canals for pulp tissue engineering: A translational study. Biology, 11(2): p. 227.

[43]. Bai, Y., X. Liu, J. Li, et al.(2022). Stage‐Dependent Regulation of Dental Pulp Stem Cell Odontogenic Differentiation by Transforming Growth Factor‐β1. Stem cells international, 2022(1): p. 2361376.

[44]. Sugiaman, V.K., R. Djuanda, N. Pranata, et al.(2022). Tissue Engineering with Stem Cell from Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth (SHED) and Collagen Matrix, Regulated by Growth Factor in Regenerating the Dental Pulp. Polymers (Basel), 14(18).

[45]. Zhang, M., F. Jiang, X. Zhang, et al.(2017). The effects of platelet-derived growth factor-BB on human dental pulp stem cells mediated dentin-pulp complex regeneration. Stem Cells Translational Medicine, 6(12): p. 2126-2134.

[46]. Li, L. and Z. Wang.(2016). PDGF-BB, NGF and BDNF enhance pulp-like tissue regeneration via cell homing. RSC Advances, 6(111): p. 109519-109527.

[47]. Ono, M., M. Oshima, M. Ogawa, et al.(2017). Practical whole-tooth restoration utilizing autologous bioengineered tooth germ transplantation in a postnatal canine model. Scientific reports, 7(1): p. 44522.

[48]. Song, W.-P., L.-Y. Jin, M.-D. Zhu, et al.(2023). Clinical trials using dental stem cells: 2022 update. World Journal of Stem Cells, 15(3): p. 31.