Mar. Drugs 2014, 12, 2877-2912; doi:10.3390/md12052877 OPEN ACCESS marine drugs ISSN 1660-3397 www.mdpi.com/journal/marinedrugs Review Evolving Marine Biomimetics for Regenerative Dentistry David W. Green 1, Wing-Fu Lai 2 and Han-Sung Jung 1,2,* 1 Oral Biosciences, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; E-Mail:
[email protected] 2 Division in Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Oral Science Research Center, BK21 PLUS Project, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, Seoul 120-752, Korea; E-Mail:
[email protected] * Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +852-2859-0480. Received: 13 March 2014; in revised form: 14 April 2014 / Accepted: 16 April 2014 / Published: 13 May 2014 Abstract: New products that help make human tissue and organ regeneration more effective are in high demand and include materials, structures and substrates that drive cell-to-tissue transformations, orchestrate anatomical assembly and tissue integration with biology. Marine organisms are exemplary bioresources that have extensive possibilities in supporting and facilitating development of human tissue substitutes. Such organisms represent a deep and diverse reserve of materials, substrates and structures that can facilitate tissue reconstruction within lab-based cultures. The reason is that they possess sophisticated structures, architectures and biomaterial designs that are still difficult to replicate using synthetic processes, so far. These products offer tantalizing pre-made options that are versatile, adaptable and have many functions for current tissue engineers seeking fresh solutions to the deficiencies in existing dental biomaterials, which lack the intrinsic elements of biofunctioning, structural and mechanical design to regenerate anatomically correct dental tissues both in the culture dish and in vivo.