Tooth absence and defects caused by various reasons are frequent events in humans. They are not life threatening but may bring about social consequences. Recent dentistry provides solutions in the form of prosthetics or dental implants; however, several complications and distinct limitations favour bioengineering of dental and periodontal structures. At least two types of cells (epithelial and mesenchymal) have to be recombined to produce a new functional tooth. Moreover, the tooth must be vascularized, innervated and properly anchored in the bone. To study these issues, different approaches have been established in both basic and applied research. In this review, recent strategies and techniques of tooth engineering are comprehensively summarized and discussed, particularly regarding manipulation using stem cells.

Department of Histology and Embryology Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v v i Brno Czech Republic