Abstract
An alveolar cleft is the most common congenital bone defect. This systematic review aimed to investigate the use of stem cells for alveolar cleft repair and summarize the outcomes of clinical research studies. The electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar were utilized to search the literature for relevant studies after administering specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. The search included articles that were published from 2011 to 2021 and specific keywords were used in the databases. The search was completed by two independent reviewers following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.Only four studies satisfied both the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. These studies investigated different aspects of bone reconstruction in the maxillary alveolar bone by stem cells, including cell types, clinical applications, biomaterial scaffolds, and follow-up period. The accumulated evidence in this systematic review is limited and insufficient to support the role of stem cell use in bone regeneration of maxillary alveolar bone defects. The outcome of using stem cells was studied only in 57 subjects from the four included studies. Although the noninvasive methods of isolating stem cells make them attractive resources for bone regeneration, more research is required in order to standardize and investigate stem cell therapy. This should be done beforehand in adults in less invasive procedures such as bone defect repair in dentistry prior to considering this type of therapy in this vulnerable patient population.
Highlights
BackgroundAlveolar cleft reconstruction was first reported in 1901 by Von Eiselberg followed by Lexer in 1908 and Dratcher in 1914 with successful bone grafting attempts in cleft patients [1]
These studies evaluated the effectiveness of stem cell application in bone regeneration within the maxillary cleft alveolar bone defect
It was concluded that the majority of retrieved studies suggested that stem cells isolated from SHEDs and human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were effective in bone tissue repair and regeneration for clinical application in animal models or humans [16]
Summary
BackgroundAlveolar cleft reconstruction was first reported in 1901 by Von Eiselberg followed by Lexer in 1908 and Dratcher in 1914 with successful bone grafting attempts in cleft patients [1]. Secondary alveolar bone grafting is usually performed during the mixed dentition before lateral incisor eruption in order to provide bony support for its eruption and stabilization of the maxilla [3]. Cleft patients start their therapeutic journey early in life with multiple maxillofacial reconstruction procedures [4]. In cleft alveolus defect studies, stem cells derived from bone marrow, umbilical cord, dental pulp, and human exfoliated deciduous teeth have been isolated and inspected in terms of tissue regeneration [10] The latter is considered a promising source as cells were harmlessly isolated from naturally exfoliated deciduous teeth pulp [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
