Advances in tissue engineering are offering the promise of being able to restore lost bone and periodontal tissue following periodontal disease.
Even when the infection or inflammation is brought under control, people can be left with an unsightly appearance and poor function, according to Saso Ivanovski, B.D.Sc., B.D., M.D.Sc., Ph.D., Listerine Chair in Periodontology at the Griffith University School of Dentistry and Oral Health in Brisbane, Australia.
In recent years, Dr. Ivanovski's research at the Griffith Institute for Health and Medical Research has been focused on growing layers of cells such as stem cells and gingival fibroblasts for restoring damaged smiles (Australian Dental Journal, September 2009, Vol. 54:s1, pp. S118-S128).
"Previous work was involved in looking at the growth factors and optimal cell types for regenerating destroyed tissue," he said in a university press release. "Now we are using new technology to harvest sheets of these cell cultures and transfer them safely to the surface of the tooth root."
Laboratory studies indicate that the cells can be successfully grafted with periodontal repair taking about six months, he added.
The technique had already been shown to be useful in other applications such as harvesting cells for skin grafts and other injured tissues, Dr. Ivanovski said.
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