Treated dentin matrix combined with dental follicle cells as a promising approach for tissue engineered tooth root regeneration

Tissue-engineered tooth regeneration is an effective treatment of tooth loss. Tissue engineering strategies to construct a tooth employ interactions between seeding cells, scaffolds, and inductive microenvironments. However, there are still no suitable scaffolds to restore the tooth and the surrounding normal tissue structure. Treated Dentin Matrix (TDM) is a calcified tissue which makes up most of the tooth and becomes a key component for tissue engineering of tooth structure. TDM is available in abundance, can easily be trimmed to a variety of shapes, and has no obvious immune rejection. TDM scaffold combined with dental follicle cells (DFCs) could be implanted into an inductive alveolar fossa microenvironment to regenerate the tooth root. We propose that TDM scaffold combined with DFCs provides a new approach for the treatment of tooth loss