Preservation of the natural dentition remains a primary objective in endodontic practice. When the pulp is diseased, it is replaced with an artificial filling material. Endodontics are looking forward to using natural resources instead of artificial ones, especially after the introduction of tissue engineering in many medical and dental fields. The regenerative endodontic procedure is an example of tissue engineering. Its use in every day clinical practice is increasing, starting by treatment of immature teeth and moving to mature teeth being considered an alternative to conventional endodontic treatment . Clinical applications of regenerative endodontics has extended to include vital pulp therapy , treatment of resorptive defects as well alveolar bone regenerative therapies needed in endodontic surgeries. Two regenerative therapies were introduced for a fully functional pulp-dentin complex regeneration, namely, cell-based (cell transplantation) and cell homing (revascularization) therapies, with each demonstrating advantages as well as drawbacks, especially in clinical application.
Objectives
- Concept of regenerative endodontics.
- Various clinical applications of regenerative endodontics.
- Cell-based (cell transplantation) and cell homing (revascularization) therapies.