Tissue Engineering in Periodontology

The ultimate goal of periodontal therapy remains the predictable three-dimensional repair of an intact and functional periodontal attachment that replicates its pre-disease structure. While periodontal treatment, aimed at removing the bacterial cause of the disease is generally very successful. However, the ability predictably to regenerate the damaged tissues still remains a major unmet objective for conventional treatment strategies. Langer in 1993 proposed tissue engineering as a possible technique for regenerating lost periodontal tissues. This field builds on the interface between materials science and biocompatibility, and integrates cells, natural or synthetic scaffolds, and specific signals to create new tissues. Tissue engineering is viewed as synonymous to "regenerative dentistry" because the goal of tissue engineering is to restore tissue function through the delivery of stem cells, bioactive molecules, or synthetic tissue constructs engineered in the laboratory.