23 - Scaffolds for periodontal tissue engineering

Abstract

Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects supporting tissues around teeth, resulting in periodontal tissue breakdown. If left untreated, periodontal disease could have serious consequences; this condition is in fact considered as the primary cause of tooth loss. Being highly prevalent among adults, periodontal disease treatment is always receiving increased attention from researchers and clinicians. Periodontal regeneration aims at restoring the destructed attachment apparatus, to improve tooth stability and thus reduce disease progression and subsequent periodontal tissue breakdown. Although many biomaterials have been developed to promote periodontal regeneration, they still have their own set of disadvantages. As a result, scaffolds have been recently investigated in periodontal regeneration, not only to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional biomaterials but also to ensure more predictable regenerative outcomes with minimal complications. Because scaffolds are considered the key players in successful tissue regeneration and are among the principal components of the tissue engineering paradigm, we review in this chapter scaffolds in periodontal tissue regeneration applications, with a main focus on the constituting biomaterials, as they strongly influence the overall properties and characteristics of a scaffold. We also highlight the adoption of 3D-printed scaffolds for periodontal tissue regeneration purposes.