An ideal goal of oral-craniofacial dental reconstructive therapy is to establish treatment modalities that predictably restore functional tissues. One major area of focus has been in the area of dental materials with marked improvements in the design of materials used to restore teeth/periodontium/bone lost as a consequence of disease or disorders. With advances in understanding the cell and mo...

Innate immunity is the first line of host defense and represents inherited resistance to infection. Innate immunity works through toll-like receptors (TLRs), which recognize the conserved molecular patterns on pathogenic bacteria known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns. The periodontium is a unique environment in which oral microorganisms are in constant contact with the host immune sys...

Current treatments for diseases and trauma of dental, oral and craniofacial (DOC) structures rely on durable materials such as amalgam and synthetic materials, or autologous tissue grafts. A paradigm shift has taken place to utilize tissue engineering and drug delivery approaches towards the regeneration of these structures. Several prototypes of DOC structures have been regenerated such as tem...

The discipline of Periodontology deals with the development, anatomy, structure, and function of the various soft and hard tissues of the periodontium in health and disease, i.e., gingiva, periodontal ligament, root cementum, and alveolar bone proper. It concerns diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the various diseases and conditions affecting the periodontal tissues. There are close relati...

Basic patterns of masticatory rhythm are generated by the intrinsic neuronal network, so called masticatory central pattern generator, in the brain stem, and are fine tuned in response to both peripheral feedback and central afferent inputs. It is well known that peripheral receptors responsible for the regulation of masticatory rhythm are distributed in the periodontium, lips, oral mucosa, jaw...

Myristica fragrans, commonly known as nutmeg has been used as a spice and flavouring agent in the food industry and domestic use since ages. It has also shown to have many medicinal properties due to the complex structural molecules present in it. Its role however in periodontal diseases has not been reported to the best of our knowledge. Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease affecting perio...

Though the fields of regenerative dentistry and tissue engineering have undergone significant advancements, yet its application to the field of implant-dentistry is lacking; in the sense that presently the implants are being placed with the aim of attaining osseointegration without giving consideration to the regeneration of periodontium around the implant. The following article reveals the cli...

OBJECTIVES This in vitro study tested the influence of diverse stress simulation parameters on the fracture strength of all-ceramic three-unit fixed partial dentures (FPDs). METHODS All-ceramic FPDs made of Empress 2 (Ivoclar-Vivadent, FL) were exposed to thermal cycling and mechanical loading (TCML) with varying loading parameters such as chewing force (amount, frequency), thermal loading, l...

Development of the periodontium involves a series of complex steps that result in the formation of root dentine, cementum, bone and fibres of the ligament. These precisely controlled and timed events require the participation of the enamel organ derived epithelial cells of Hertwig's (HRS) and ectomesenchymal cells of the dental follicle. These events involve rapid turnover of the tissues and ce...

Human Hertwig's epithelial root sheath/epithelial rests of Malassez (HERS/ERM) cells are epithelial remnants of teeth residing in the periodontium. Although the functional roles of HERS/ERM cells have yet to be elucidated, they are a unique epithelial cell population in adult teeth and are reported to have stem cell characteristics. Therefore, HERS/ERM cells might play a role as an epithelial c...