ABSTRACT
Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) derive from cranial neural crest cell popula- tions. They satisfy the minimum criteria that define mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). At this time, DPSCs do not seem to express a marker that exclu- sively identifies them. DPSCs can differentiate into multiple cell types such as neural ectodermal cells, adipocytes, odontoblasts, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myoblast cells of mesodermal origin, hepatocytes, and endothelial cells. The relatively easy and minimally invasive process of retrieval and isolation, the similarities to the human bone-marrow-derived MSCs, and the multipotent differentiation capabilities of DPSCs make them an attractive stem cell population for research and therapeutic use. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the method to isolate and culture DPSCs from extracted teeth.
