Dental stem cells – Sources and identification methods

Abstract

The banking of mesenchymal cells from the umbilical cord and harvesting them for future use is the current trend in medical science. Such sources are reservoirs of stem cells. Over the past decade, the field of dentistry has embossed its presence by taking major lead in the field of regenerative medicine and more precisely in the field of stem cells. These stem cells have the capacity for regeneration and repair by converting into any other cell type. However, these cells require signals for differentiation in a timely manner. Tooth and its associated structures have been discovered as the latest reservoirs of stem cells. In this review, a light has been thrown on such sources and their identification has been emphasized.

Keywords

• Pluripotent
• reservoir
• stem cells