Regenerative Therapy in Dentistry: Present Status and Future Perspectives

The ability to regenerate previously lost tissues holds the potential to address a broad spectrum of diseases.For clinicians, regenerative therapy represents a promising and potentially optimal strategy to meet patients' therapeutic needs.In the field of dentistry, autologous bone grafting has been widely employed for many decades and continues to be considered the gold standard for bone regeneration.Since the 1980s, numerous regenerative approaches such as guided tissue regeneration (GTR), biologically active substances such as enamel matrix derivatives and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), have been developed.These techniques have demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes.However, current treatment modalities remain limited in their capacity to regenerate extensive tissue defects.Most existing regenerative therapies, excluding autologous bone grafting, primarily rely on the activation of host-derived undifferentiated cells, without incorporating cellular components directly.Thus, the inclusion of exogenous cells is considered a critical advancement in next-generation regenerative therapy.Among cell-based approaches, multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as key players in periodontal regeneration.These cell-based therapies are expected to provide improved regenerative outcomes compared to conventional methods, and the field of regenerative dentistry is anticipated to evolve rapidly.In this review, we summarize the historical development of regenerative therapies in dentistry and discuss the present status of clinical research.We also explore future perspectives and unresolved challenges in the application of regenerative medicine to dental practice.