The discovery that stem cells from dental pulp are capable of differentiating into endothelial cells raised the exciting possibility that these cells can be a single source of odontoblasts and vascular networks in dental tissue engineering. These so-called mesenchymal stem cell populations have been identified from human exfoliated deciduous teeth because of their ability to generate clonogenic adherent colonies when grown and expanded. In addition to these stem cells, other population of stem cells can be from adult human dental pulp and periodontal ligament. The identification and isolation of these stem cells in adult dental pulp was first reported by Gronthos and co-workers in 2000.These dental pulp stem cells have clonogenic abilities, rapid proliferative rates and the capacity to form mineralized tissues both in vitro and in vivo. The stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth are distinct from dental pulp stem cells by virtue of their proliferation rate, increased cell population doublings and osteoinductive capacity in vivo. It is further demonstrated that human exfoliated deciduous teeth stem cells may not be a single-cell type, may well be a heterogenous population of cells from the pulp.
Keywords: Dental pulp stem cells; Stem cells; Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth.