| According to the American Dental Association, three out of four Americans over 35 have some form of gum disease and about 25 million adults suffer from serious periodontal diseases. Periodontal diseases start with damage of surrounding the tooth such as gingiva, ligament, cementum and alveolar bone and eventually may lead to tooth loss. Cementum plays a critical role in maintaining the tooth health. There are many methods and products available in the market to treat periodontal diseases, but they all have some limitations. Some products employ bone grafts, such as, Autograft, which is restricted by bone availability, donor site morbidity, and contouring difficulty. Allografts and xenografts raise concerns of immuno-rejection and disease transmission. Most approved products only release antibiotics over a period of time which may cause side effects when used over a long time. There is a need for a product which will more naturally promote the growth of a native cementum. Tissue Engineering may be a promising approach for regeneration of lost or damaged cementum. Tissue Engineering is the process of creating living, physiological, three-dimensional tissues and organs utilizing specific combinations of cells, cell scaffolds and cell signals, both chemical and mechanical.;Appropriate material for cementum scaffolds are selected, and a process to manufacture well-defined scaffolds to regenerate cementum is developed. The well-studied Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM) process is modified for the manufacture of cementum scaffolds. The scaffolds made with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and bacterial cellulose layers were compared to salt-leach scaffolds made of PLGA. Material properties of four types of scaffolds are tested using ASTM standards and compared to native cementum. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were seeded in the scaffolds and the viability was tested using Alamar Blue assays. Scanning Electrom Microscopy (SEM) was used to evaluate the surface morphology, texture and cell growth. Calcium deposits were also tested. Results from theses studies show that the scaffolds generated by these methods are possible precursors for further testing and generating cementum in vivo. |
