Abstract
Resident stem cell pools in many tissues/organs are responsible not only for tissue maintenance during physiologic turnover but also for the process of bone healing following dental implant insertion. Recent advances have been made toward inducing stem cell mobilization and directing patients' own cells to sites of interest for treating a broad spectrum of diseases in regenerative dentistry. An evolving body of work corroborates that delivering guidance cues can mobilize stem cells from the palate and drive these cells toward a specific region. In addition, the transplantation of cell-friendly biomaterials incorporating certain biomolecules has led to the regeneration of lost/damaged tissue without the need for delivering cellular materials manipulated ex vivo. Recently, cell homing has resulted in remarkable biological discoveries in the laboratory as well as great curative successes in preclinical scenarios. Here, we review using the results of an initial clinical- and histological-controlled study the biological evidence underlying in vivo cell mobilization and homing with the aim of leveraging endogenous reparative cells for therapeutic applications in dental regenerative implantology. Considering both the promise and the obstacles of this approach, we discuss the results how oral-derived neural crest-derived stem cells of the in vivo milieu can be modified to promote the native regenerative process and inspire future tissue-engineering design.