The ability of stem cells to treat large alveolar defects is safe, yet, their ability to completely reconstitute large alveolar defects is limited. This approach requires further optimization to meet the outcomes seen using current methods to treat large defects, particularly those resultant of cleft palate.

Bone marrow stromal stem cells (BMSCs) are adult multipotent cells, which have the potential to differentiate into cell types of mesodermal origin, namely osteocytes, adipocytes, and chondrocytes. Due to their accessibility and expansion potential, BMSCs have historically held therapeutic promise in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. More recently, it has been demonstrated that not only can bone marrow stromal stem cells directly participate in tissue regeneration, but they also have the capacity to migrate to distant sites of tissue injury, where they can participate in tissue repair either directly through their differentiation or indirectly through paracrine mechanisms. Additionally, they can elicit various immunomodulatory signals, which can attenuate the inflammatory and immune responses. As such, bone marrow stromal stem cells have been explored clinically for treatment of a wide variety of different conditions including bone defects, graft-vs.-host disease, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, neurological diseases, and liver and kidney diseases. This review provides an overview of current clinical applications of bone marrow stromal stem cells and discusses their therapeutic properties, while also addressing limitations of their use. PubMed, Ovid, and Google Scholar online databases were searched using several keywords, including "stem cells", "tissue engineering", tissue regeneration" and "clinical trials". Additionally, Clinical trials.gov was used to locate completed clinical trials using bone marrow derived stem cells.

Metastatic tumors to the oral cavity are uncommon and a thyroid origin is considered exceedingly rare. A case of metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) presenting as a painful swelling in the right posterior maxilla of a 63-year-old male is reported here. The patient had been diagnosed with PTC 2 years ago and treated with thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment. Radiographically, the metastatic lesion presented as a poorly-defined radiolucent lesion around an impacted maxillary third molar in the right maxilla. Histopathologic examination revealed features of PTC which was immunohistochemically positive for pancytokeratin, keratin 19 and thyroglobulin. Imaging studies revealed the presence of residual maxillary and neck disease as well as additional metastatic lesions in the sternum, ribs, and left tibia. A thorough review of the English language literature revealed only 36 previously published cases of thyroid cancer metastases to the oral cavity, the demographic and clinicopathologic features of which are summarized.

We have previously shown that blue light eliminates the black-pigmented oral bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, and Prevotella melaninogenica. In the present study, the in vitro photosensitivity of the above black-pigmented microorganisms and four Fusobacteria species (Fusobacterium nucleatum ss. nucleatum, F. nucleatum ss. vincentii, F. nucleatum ss. polymorphum, Fusobacterium periodonticum) was investigated in pure cultures and human dental plaque suspensions. We also tested the hypothesis that phototargeting the above eight key periodontopathogens in plaque-derived biofilms in vitro would control growth within the dental biofilm environment. Cultures of the eight bacteria were exposed to blue light at 455 nm with power density of 80 mW/cm2 and energy fluence of 4.8 J/cm2. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of bacteria was performed to demonstrate the presence and amounts of porphyrin molecules within microorganisms. Suspensions of human dental plaque bacteria were also exposed once to blue light at 455 nm with power density of 50 mW/cm2 and energy fluence of 12 J/cm2. Microbial biofilms developed from the same plaque were exposed to 455 nm blue light at 50 mW/cm2 once daily for 4 min (12 J/cm2) over a period of 3 days (4 exposures) in order to investigate the cumulative action of phototherapy on the eight photosensitive pathogens as well as on biofilm growth. Bacterial growth was evaluated using the colony-forming unit (CFU) assay. The selective phototargeting of pathogens was studied using whole genomic probes in the checkerboard DNA-DNA format. In cultures, all eight species showed significant growth reduction (p < 0.05). HPLC demonstrated various porphyrin patterns and amounts of porphyrins in bacteria. Following phototherapy, the mean survival fractions were reduced by 28.5 and 48.2% in plaque suspensions and biofilms, respectively, (p < 0.05). DNA probe analysis showed significant reduction in relative abundances of the eight bacteria as a group in plaque suspensions and biofilms. The cumulative blue light treatment suppressed biofilm growth in vitro. This may introduce a new avenue of prophylactic treatment for periodontal diseases.

Objectives To investigate whether xenograft EB (EndoBon) is non‐inferior to xenograft BO (Bio‐Oss) when used in reconstructive surgery of peri‐implant osseous defects. Materials and methods Dental patients with one implant each demonstrating peri‐implantitis were randomized to receive surgical debridement and defect fill with either BO or EB. Changes in bone level (BL) and intrabony defect depth (IDD) evaluated radiographically were the primary outcomes. The secondary outcomes included changes in probing pocket depth (PPD), bleeding on probing (BoP), and suppuration on probing (SoP). All outcomes were recorded before treatment and at 6 and 12 months post‐treatment. Results Twenty‐four patients (n = 11 BO, n = 13 EB) completed the study. Both groups demonstrated significant within‐group improvements in all clinical and radiographic parameters at 6 and 12 months (p ≤ .001). At 12 months, both groups presented with IDD reductions of 2.5–3.0 mm on average. The inter‐group differences were not statistically significant at all time points and for all the examined parameters (p > .05). While the radiographic defect fill in both groups exceeded > 1 mm and can be considered treatment success, successful treatment outcomes as defined by Consensus Reporting (no further bone loss, PPD ≤ 5 mm, no BOP, and no SoP) were identified in 2/11 (18%) BO and 0/13 (0%) EB individuals (Fisher's exact test, p = .199). Conclusions Within the limitations of this pilot study, the application of xenograft EB showed to be non‐inferior to xenograft BO when used in reconstructive surgery of peri‐implant osseous defects.