Regeneration of tissues of the oral complex: current clinical trends and research advances.

Regenerative therapy in oral health care is limited by both the body's natural capacity for regeneration and the materials and methods currently available. Research on various aspects of regenerative therapy, such as tissue engineering and stem cell and gene therapy, has produced promising results. Compelling advances, ranging from the discovery and characterization of stem cell populations in oral tissue to the engineering and transplantation of whole tooth structures, could result in exciting new treatment methods for clinicians in the near future. In this review, we discuss the limitations of natural healing and regeneration of various tissues of the oral complex, including teeth, periodontium and salivary glands, and summarize current treatment methods for tissue damage as well as research advances in oral tissue regeneration.

Cannulation of the mouse submandibular salivary gland via the Wharton's duct.

Severe salivary gland hypofunction is frequently found in patients with Sjögren's syndrome and those who receiving therapeutic irradiation in their head and neck regions for cancer treatment. Both groups of patients experience symptoms such as xerostomia (dry mouth), dysphagia (impaired chewing and swallowing), severe dental caries, altered taste, oro-pharyngeal infections (candidiasis), mucositis, pain and discomfort. One innovative approach of regenerative medicine for the treatment of salivary gland hypo-function is speculated in RS Redman, E Mezey et al. 2009: stem cells can be directly deposited by cannulation into the gland as a potent method in reviving the functions of the impaired organ. Presumably, the migrated foreign stem cells will differentiate into glandular cells to function as part of the host salivary gland. Also, this cannulation technique is an expedient and effective delivery method for clinical gene transfer application. Here we illustrate the steps involved in performing the cannulation procedure on the mouse submandibular salivary gland via the Wharton's duct (Fig 1). C3H mice (Charles River, Montreal, QC, Canada) are used for this experiment, which have been kept under clean conventional conditions at the McGill University animal resource center. All experiments have been approved by the University Animal Care Committee and were in accordance with the guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care. For this experiment, a trypan blue solution is infused into the gland through the opening of the Wharton's duct using a insulin syringe with a 29-gauge needle encased inside a polyethylene tube. Subsequently, the mouse is dissected to show that the infusions migrated into the gland successfully.