Oral tissue engineering for transplantation to aid wound healing in mouth (oral cavity) reconstruction has taken a significant step forward with a Netherlands-based research team's successful development of a gum tissue (gingival) substitute that can be used for reconstruction in the oral cavity.
Their work was reported in the current issue of Cell Transplantation (17:10/11).
According to the study's lead author, Dr. Susan Gibbs of the VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam, skin substitutes have been far more advanced than oral gingiva substitutes and, until now, no oral tissue-engineered products have been available for clinical applications. The team was the first to develop an autologous (same patient) full thickness skin substitute that Dr. Gibbs says is "proving to be very successful." However, they wanted to develop an autologous, full thickness oral substitute with the correct oral characteristics.
"Reconstructive surgery within the oral cavity is required during tumor excision, cleft palate repair, trauma, repair of diseased tissue and for generating soft tissue around teeth and dental implants," explained Dr. Gibbs. "Drawbacks of using skin as an autograft material in the oral cavity include bulkiness, sweating and hair formation and the limited amount of donor tissue available."