Dental pulp stem cells from primary and permanent teeth: quality analysis.

Objective: The objective of the study was to identify and isolate stem cells from healthy and inflamed dental pulp and characterize their differentiation potential into multiple lineages.

Study Design: Study was conducted in dental pulp tissues obtained from the children in the age range of 5-14 years. Tissue samples were collected from teeth indicated for pulp therapy and extractions for orthodontic purpose. Samples were processed in the laboratory including cell culture, isolation and differentiation into multiple lineages. The results for the analysis of various cell surface markers used for dental pulp were compared with bone marrow which is considered as a gold standard.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference found in the expression of various surface markers between inflamed dental pulp and bone marrow. Healthy pulp from the primary teeth was not sufficient to use as a source for harvesting stem cells moreover the healthy tissue obtained from permanent teeth failed to show any results at all.

Conclusion: Inflamed pulp discarded during pulp therapy procedures is a potential source for harvesting adult stem cells.