International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Tooth Formation: Are the Hardest Tissues of Human Body Hard to Regenerate? Juliana Baranova 1, Dominik Büchner 2, Werner Götz 3, Margit Schulze 2 and Edda Tobiasch 2,* 1 Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Avenida Professor Lineu Prestes 748, Vila Universitária, São Paulo 05508-000, Brazil;
[email protected] 2 Department of Natural Sciences, Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, von-Liebig-Straße 20, 53359 Rheinbach, NRW, Germany;
[email protected] (D.B.);
[email protected] (M.S.) 3 Oral Biology Laboratory, Department of Orthodontics, Dental Hospital of the University of Bonn, Welschnonnenstraße 17, 53111 Bonn, NRW, Germany;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +49-2241-865-576 Received: 29 April 2020; Accepted: 3 June 2020; Published: 4 June 2020 Abstract: With increasing life expectancy, demands for dental tissue and whole-tooth regeneration are becoming more significant. Despite great progress in medicine, including regenerative therapies, the complex structure of dental tissues introduces several challenges to the field of regenerative dentistry. Interdisciplinary efforts from cellular biologists, material scientists, and clinical odontologists are being made to establish strategies and find the solutions for dental tissue regeneration and/or whole-tooth regeneration. In recent years, many significant discoveries were done regarding signaling pathways and factors shaping calcified tissue genesis, including those of tooth. Novel biocompatible scaffolds and polymer-based drug release systems are under development and may soon result in clinically applicable biomaterials with the potential to modulate signaling cascades involved in dental tissue genesis and regeneration.