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| Immature teeth are susceptible to infections due to trauma, anatomic anomalies, and caries. Traditional endodontic therapy such as apexification and pulpotomy have several disadvantages, including the unpredictability of apical barrier formation and the long duration of treatment. Regenerative endodontic therapy provides an alternative treatment approach that builds on the principles of regenerative medicine and biological tissue engineering process. This process includes two key parts: one is pulp revascularization, regenerating new vital pulp tissue in the root canal to promote continuous root growth and development; the other is tissue engineering, stem cells under the induction of suitable biological active scaffold and growth factors promote pulp dentin complex regeneration. The aim of the therapy is not only for a resolution of pain, inflammation and periapical lesions, but also for regenerating functional pulpal tissue to promote root development in terms of both length and thickness. This review summarizes the recent concept of pulp revascularization in the treatmet of immature teeth with nonvital pulps and the emerging research on pulp tissue engineering, and put insight of the challenges and clinical outcomes of regenerative endodontic therapy. |
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| Keywords:regenerative endodontic therapy; pulp revascularization; tissue engineering |
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