International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Functional Dental Pulp Regeneration: Basic Research and Clinical Translation Zhuo Xie †, Zongshan Shen †, Peimeng Zhan, Jiayu Yang, Qiting Huang, Shuheng Huang, Lingling Chen * and Zhengmei Lin * Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Guanghua Hospital of Stomatology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510055, China;
[email protected] (Z.X.);
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[email protected] (S.H.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] (L.C.);
[email protected] (Z.L.); Tel.: +86-20-83861544 (L.C.); +86-20-8380-1989 (Z.L.); Fax: +86-20-8382-2807 (L.C. & Z.L.) † Contributed equally to this work. Abstract: Pulpal and periapical diseases account for a large proportion of dental visits, the current treatments for which are root canal therapy (RCT) and pulp revascularisation. Despite the clinical signs of full recovery and histological reconstruction, true regeneration of pulp tissues is still far from being achieved. The goal of regenerative endodontics is to promote normal pulp function recovery in inflamed or necrotic teeth that would result in true regeneration of the pulpodentinal complex. Recently, rapid progress has been made related to tissue engineering-mediated pulp regeneration, which combines stem cells, biomaterials, and growth factors. Since the successful isolation and characterisation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and other applicable dental mesenchymal stem cells, basic research and preclinical exploration of stem cell-mediated functional pulp regeneration Citation: Xie, Z.; Shen, Z.; Zhan, P.; via cell transplantation and cell homing have received considerably more attention.