Restoration of lost tooth tissue, whether from disease or trauma, represents a significant proportion of the daily routine for many practicing clinicians. The recent WHO World Oral Health Report 2003 identified caries as a continuing global problem, with an estimated five billion people worldwide having experienced the disease. Treatment costs are estimated as accounting for some 5–10% of the healthcare budgets in industrialized countries (WHO, 2004). Thus, the challenge and resource burden of restoring lost tooth tissue will be with us for many years to come.
The future for regenerative and tissue-engineering applications to dentistry is one with immense potential, capable of bringing quantum advances in treatment for our patients. The need for high-quality research in the basic sciences is paramount to ensuring that the development of novel clinical treatment modalities is underpinned by robust mechanistic data, and that such approaches are effective. This translational model epitomizes how dentistry should evolve and highlights the need for close partnerships between basic and clinical scientists.