Stem Cells of Dental Origin: Current Research Trends and Key Milestones towards Clinical Application

Dental Mesenchymal StemCells (MSCs), includingDental Pulp StemCells (DPSCs), StemCells fromHuman ExfoliatedDeciduous teeth (SHED), and Stem Cells From Apical Papilla (SCAP), have been extensively studied using highly sophisticated in vitro and in vivo systems, yielding substantially improved understanding of their intriguing biological properties. Their capacity to reconstitute various dental and nondental tissues and the inherent angiogenic, neurogenic, and immunomodulatory properties of their secretome have been a subject of meticulous and costly research by various groups over the past decade. Key milestone achievements have exemplified their clinical utility in Regenerative Dentistry, as surrogate therapeutic modules for conventional biomaterial-based approaches, offering regeneration of damaged oral tissues instead of simply "filling the gaps." Thus, the essential next step to validate these immense advances is the implementation of well-designed clinical trials paving the way for exploiting these fascinating research achievements for patient well-being: the ultimate aim of this ground breaking technology. This review paper presents a concise overviewof the major biological properties of the human dental MSCs, critical for the translational pathway "from bench to clinic."