IMPORTANCE OF STEM CELL IN PERIODONTAL REGENERATION

Periodontal diseases are disorders that affect the soft and hard tissues surrounding teeth. these diseases start with gingivitis, which is the inflammatory stage of the gingiva, and if untreated may end up with the breakdown of the tissues that support the teeth, mobility and finally the loss of teeth. the aim of the periodontal treatments are generally to resolve this inflammatory problem, to stop the tissue breakdown and regain the lost tissue by applying certain regenerative procedures. however, a limited amount of periodontal tissue is regained after these applications. on the other hand, as the stem cell and tissue engineering technology improves, great attention is paid to utilize dental progenitör cells for the treatment of periodontitis and dental caries, to regenerate craniofacial hard and soft tissues, and even to replace a misssing tooth. in this review, the importance and future of the studies about dental stem cells and periodontal regeneration were assessed.