Abstract
Background: Bone loss due to congenital or acquired abnormalities of the craniofacial skeleton is of common occurrence. Surgical repair and reconstruction of the critical size bony defects are clinically challenging. Of the several approaches, stem cell-based bone-regeneration is gaining momentum. Stem cells from the orofacial region have been identified as potential source for craniofacial bone reconstruction as they are derived from cranial neural crest cells. Isolation of orofacial stem cells is minimally invasive, and they are highly proliferative with the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages.
Method: The current review gives a description on mesenchymal stem cells derived from the orofacial region (OMSCs) and updates the information on their use in bone regeneration.
Results: Studies have reported that OMSCs are highly proliferative with the ability to differentiate into osteogenic lineage. Various factors influencing osteogenic potential of OMSCs have been discussed.
Conclusion: The findings from the previous literature confirms the potential use of OMSCs in craniofacial bone tissue engineering.
Keywords: Bone regeneration, craniofacial skeleton, critical size defect, mesenchymal stem cells, neural crest, orofacial stem cells.
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