Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: The Most Important Clinical Applications of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

A growing number of patients require treatments in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery, because of several different cues such as traumatic injuries, degenerative diseases, and cancer-related surgical treatments. Since 1990, regenerative techniques were focused on the use of platelet concentrates and growth factors; in the following years, the development of new biomaterials introduced the era of tissue engineering, but the most fruitful advancement was represented by the introduction of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that completely revolutionized tissue and organ regeneration. This chapter aims to describe the most important advancements of regenerative technologies involved in oral and maxillofacial surgery, focusing on the wide application of MSCs and on the role of the newly discovered oral-derived MSCs in clinical uses.