Tooth Repair and Regeneration

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Current dental treatments are based on conservative approaches, using inorganic materials and appliances. This report explores and discusses the newest achievements in the field of “regenerative dentistry,” based on the concept of biological repair as an alternative to the current conservative approach. RECENT FINDINGS: The review covers and critically analyzes three main approaches of tooth repair: the re-mineralization of the enamel, the biological repair of dentin, and whole tooth engineering. SUMMARY: The development of a concept of biological repair based on the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in reparative dentin formation offers a new translational approach into development of future clinical dental treatments. In the field of bio-tooth engineering, the current focus of the researchers remains the establishment of odontogenic cell-sources that would be viable and easily accessible for future bio-tooth engineering.