Should deciduous teeth be preserved in adult patients? How about stem cells? Is it reasonable to preserve them?

Alberto CONSOLARO

When seeking orthodontic treatment, many adolescents and adult patients present with deciduous teeth. Naturally, deciduous teeth will inevitably undergo exfoliation at the expected time or at a later time. Apoptosis is the biological trigger of root resorption. In adult patients, deciduous teeth should not be preserved, as they promote: infraocclusion, traumatic occlusion, occlusal trauma, diastemata and size as well as morphology discrepancy malocclusion. Orthodontic movement speeds root resorption up, and so do restoring or recontouring deciduous teeth in order to establish esthetics and function. Deciduous teeth cells are dying as a result of apoptosis, and their regeneration potential, which allows them to act as stem cells, is limited. On the contrary, adult teeth cells have a greater proliferative potential. All kinds of stem cell therapies are laboratory investigative non authorized trials.

Keywords: Deciduous teeth. Root resorption. Stem cells. Orthodontic movement. Apoptosis.

How to cite: Consolaro A. Should deciduous teeth be preserved in adult patients? How about stem cells? Is it reasonable to preserve them? Dental Press J Orthod. 2016 Mar-Apr;21(2):15-27. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2177-6709.21.2.015-027.oin

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 06:24