Stem Cells from Dental Pulp of Human Exfoliated Teeth: Current Understanding and Future Challenges in Dental Tissue Engineering

To describe the current scientific knowledge concerning stem cells obtained from the pulp of discarded primary teeth and to discuss their contribution to dental tissue engineering, a narrative review of the relevant literature published in the past decade (2010–2019) in the PubMed database was conducted. The promise that stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) hold as a viable biological option to heal diseased dental organs has been the focus of research over the past decade. New ways of inducing higher levels of differentiation through various bioactive agents and scaffolds have been pursued. Attention has also been paid to the regeneration potential of the discarded pulp tissue that originates from high caries risk or inflamed teeth. In conclusion, the field of stem cell engineering is constantly evolving, and although there is still much to learn about the behaviour of SHED, there are endless opportunities for their exploitation in dental regeneration.