Dimitrios Tziafas
European University College, UAE
Title: What is on the horizon in terms of dentin-pulp complex tissue engineering?
Biography
Biography: Dimitrios Tziafas
Abstract
Entering the era of molecular dentistry, novel treatment modalities and biomaterials, able to regenerate craniofacial and oral tissues are designed and tested at preclinical level. Biomedical research, seems to convert progressively the paradigm of traditional dentistry where the lost tooth structure is replaced by an appropriate dental material, into a new regenerative paradigm where the lost tooth structure should be replaced with tooth structure. Numerous experimental approaches support the working hypothesis that the therapeutic control of dentin-pulp complex regeneration is now possible. Among other clinical situations, the clinical challenges in the development of effective therapies in teeth with deep dentinal cavities, extensive loss of crown tooth structure and compromised pulp functions, offer exciting opportunities for the near future. In this presentation the biological insights of the real therapeutic needs in the currently used vital pulp treatment modalities and the newly introduced materials will be reviewed. The most promising molecules-based dentin-pulp complex tissue engineering strategies, and how they can work in a clinically predictable way, will be further discussed.