Dental and Nondental Stem Cell Based Regeneration of the Craniofacial Region: A Tissue Based Approach

• Main Authors: Declan Hughes, Bing Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Stem Cells International
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/8307195

Craniofacial reconstruction may be a necessary treatment for those who have been affected by trauma, disease, or pathological developmental conditions. The use of stem cell therapy and tissue engineering shows massive potential as a future treatment modality. Currently in the literature, there is a wide variety of published experimental studies utilising the different stem cell types available and the plethora of available scaffold materials. This review investigates different stem cell sources and their unique characteristics to suggest an ideal cell source for regeneration of individual craniofacial tissues. At present, understanding and clinical applications of stem cell therapy remain in their infancy with numerous challenges to overcome. In spite of this, the field displays immense capacity and will no doubt be utilised in future clinical treatments of craniofacial regeneration.