From 600 patients X-rays analysis, they found that more implants a patient had in the jaw, the more common it was to find loss of supporting bone. And over a quarter 28 per cent of patients had lost some degree of supporting bone around their implants.

Christer Fransson, dental surgeon consultant said, "Contrary to what we had previously assumed, the bone loss in these patients was not linear, but instead accelerated with time." It is important to detect and treat bone loss around implants at an early stage, said him.

One of several factors that increase the risk of bone loss is smoking. In the study smokers had more implants with bone loss than non-smokers.

The study also shows that the soft tissues surrounding an implant with bone loss is often inflamed. "In that way we can notice early signs of inflammation and treat it before the bone loss has any serious consequences," said Fransson.


Source: One In Four Patients Have Lost Bone Around Their Implants

The repair and regeneration of bone is particularly significant for the oral maxillofacial area. By repairing these bones, it will aid in orofacial functions like speech, chewing, swallowing and facial expressions. But this repairing process are extremely intricate and complex.

Dr. David Matzilevich, M.D., Ph.D., Science Advisor to StemSave (the market leader in the field of stem cell recovery and cryo-preservation), said "These clinical studies are so significant because autologous dental stem cells were expanded in vitro and for the purpose of oro-maxillofacial bone repair. These cells also facilitated the graft, eliminating immunologic complications such as rejection or excessive inflammation."

"This is compelling because it creates an environment which proves to be more favorable and successful for new mandibular bone to grow. This approach also appears superior to current methodologies utilizing cadaverous tissue or grafting tissue from another part of the body. I am very excited that dental stem cells have emerged as critical players in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine now that they have been proven to differentiate into multiple lineages," said him.

Art Greco, CEO of StemSave, Inc., said that from this clinical study we could use patient's own stem cells harvested from their teeth not just only for repairing bone, but also for more number of applications to treat a broad array of disease, trauma and injury. And because dental stem cells are easy to recover as part of routine dental procedures, this represents the first of many upcoming uses in the field of personal and regenerative medicine and supports the wisdom of banking our own stem cells from our teeth.


Source: First Ever Clinical Study Shows Dental Stem Cells Regrow Bone