CRANIOFACIAL AND DENTAL TISSUE - 3D Bioprinting and Nanotechnology in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine - page 199

FIGURE 9.7
Mandibular positions during chewing following unilateral total TMJ replacement: A. mouth closed (lateral view).
B. Maximum gape (lateral view). C. Maximum gape (frontal view).
(From: Leiggener et al., 2012 ).
9.4.4 NEW CRANIOFACIAL TISSUES
Two of the more difficult craniofacial tissues are now being explored to see if stem cells can be used in
regenerative therapies. The first tissue is retina, where retinal stem cells have received attention given
their role in producing sight ( Hambright et al., 2012 ). This work is currently focused on elucidating the
mechanisms of retinal tissue repair and treatments for degenerative diseases. The regeneration of sight
may be somewhat further off ( Yip, 2014 ). The second tissue is oral mucosa, a highly specialized tissue
that is at a high risk of failure and infection following masticatory and dental reconstructive surgery.
Good integration between oral mucosa, underlying reconstructed structures, and around percutaneous
implants is the goal of this work ( Jones and Klein, 2013 ).
9.4.5 BIOREACTORS
Preculturing of cells inside a bioreactor, with and without shear stress (i.e. from flow or external com-
pression or tension), nutrients, and signaling molecules has been studied as a way of preculturing
cells. One of the advantages of preculturing is the production of sufficient cells (starting from low cell