International Arab Journal of Dentistry
Stem Cell-Based Therapies in Periodontology and Implant Dentistry: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
By Abdullah Saeed and Marycris Padrigo.
Abstract
Introduction
Periodontal disease and peri-implantitis remain the leading causes of tooth and implant loss, and conventional regenerative procedures consistently fall short of full structural restoration. Stem cell therapies have emerged as a promising alternative, operating through multi-lineage differentiation, immunomodulation via paracrine signaling, and extracellular vesicle communication. Prior systematic reviews, however, lacked methodological rigor — omitting clustering adjustments, REML/HKSJ estimation, prediction intervals, and publication bias modeling.
Aim
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated whether stem cell therapy produces superior clinical and radiographic outcomes compared to cell-free controls in adults with periodontal or peri-implant bone defects.