Recent Advances of Stem Cells in Orthodontics

Stem cell research is being pursued in the hope of achieving major medical breakthroughs which are aimed at determining the mechanisms underlying the conversion of a single, undifferentiated cell, i.e, the fertilized egg, into the different cells comprising the organs and tissues of the human body. Stem cell is a multipotent cell, which can proliferate and differentiate into a specific cell. They are used for engineering many tissues and organs. These can be harvested from dental pulp, periodontal ligament, alveolar bone marrow, expanded, embedded in a appropriate scaffold, and transplanted back into defect to regenerate bone and tooth structures. Orthodontists define themselves as dentoalveolar orthopaedists and restrict corticotomy procedures to "selective alveolar decortication" with or without grafting. With a new vision (orthodontic tooth movement, through a healing wound), orthodontists can modulate physiological internal strains similar to those of distraction osteogenesis in long bones- to define novel and more stable alveolus phenotypes, reducing the need for bicuspid extractions and minimizing orthognathic surgery morbidity.