The first clinical study to use autologous dental pulp stem cells to reconstruct mandible bone in humans is being hailed as “ground-breaking” by pioneers in the field.
Publishing in the November European Cells and Materials Journal, researchers from the 2nd University of Naples demonstrated that combining dental pulp stem cells with a collagen sponge scaffold “can completely restore human mandible bone defects,” indicating that these cells could be used for the repair and/or regeneration of various tissues and organs, they wrote.
One-year follow-up
The study initially involved 17 patients who needed their wisdom teeth removed but were at risk of postextractive alveolar bone loss. Their upper (maxillary) molars were removed and the dental pulp harvested and injected into a collagen sponge scaffold. The patients’ lower (mandible) molars were then extracted and the sponge-cell implant used to fill the space left behind. A flap of gum tissue was sutured into place to avoid any contact with the oral cavity.
Patients were evaluated at seven days and 30 days postoperatively, with additional follow-up at months two and three. The seven patients who returned for the one-year follow-up presented with a normal oral cavity without signs of alterations. In all cases the collagen sponge had been completely reabsorbed, and the mucosae were normal at all sites. X-ray analysis confirmed that bone regeneration at the test sites was complete and stable, and quality of life, chewing, and related functions remained optimal in all patients, the researchers reported.
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