Creating a Microenvironment to Give Wings to Dental Pulp Regeneration—Bioactive Scaffolds

Abstract

Dental pulp and periapical diseases make patients suffer from acute pain and economic loss. Although root canal therapies, as demonstrated through evidence-based medicine, can relieve symptoms and are commonly employed by dentists, it is still difficult to fully restore a dental pulp’s nutrition, sensory, and immune-regulation functions. In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in tissue engineering to regenerate dental pulp in a desired microenvironment. With breakthroughs in regenerative medicine and material science, bioactive scaffolds play a pivotal role in creating a suitable microenvironment for cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation, following dental restoration and regeneration. This article focuses on current challenges and novel perspectives about bioactive scaffolds in creating a microenvironment to promote dental pulp regeneration. We hope our readers will gain a deeper understanding and new inspiration of dental pulp regeneration through our summary.

Research progress of pulp regeneration based on tissue engineering

“…It is complex network structures composed of macromolecules secreted by cells into the extracellular matrix and are microenvironments suitable for cell survival [35] . Decellularized odontogenic stem cells retain most of the microstructure of the tooth tissue, and carry some of the bioactive factors associated with pulp regeneration and largely retain their original living environment [36] . One of the pulp regeneration-related ECM contains high concentrations of glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, and hyaluronic acid linked together by a fibronectin and Collagen-1 network.…”

Injectable Xenogeneic Dental Pulp Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel Promotes Functional Dental Pulp Regeneration

“…Extensive research has highlighted dental pulp tissue engineering as one of the most promising approaches for achieving functional dental pulp regeneration [11][12][13]. However, several challenges remain, particularly concerning the development of bioactive materials containing intricate regenerative signals capable of establishing tissue-specific microenvironments conducive to dental pulp regeneration [14,15]. These challenges are further compounded by the narrow nature of the root canal environment where the dental pulp resides, coupled with the significant anatomical variations in root canal shapes [16,17], significantly complicating the development of scaffold materials.…”