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Gene Therapy: Principles and Applications in Dentistry.

Vagish Kumar L S

Change and modification is a continuous process in advancement of technology. Research is being done to understand the cellular and molecular basis of every disease. Most of the conventional methods to treat diseases have not been giving satisfactory results, so currently there is increasing focus on gene therapy to treat wide variety of inherited and acquired diseases. Gene therapy is the use of genes as medicine. It is a method by which defective gene is replaced or repaired by a therapeutic gene. Gene therapy can be used to treat wide range of diseases ranging from single gene disorder to multi-gene disorder. It has variety of applications in the field of dentistry like in cancerous and precancerous condition, salivary gland disorders, autoimmune diseases, bone repair, DNA vaccination, bone repair etc. Minor salivary glands and keratinocytes present in the oral mucosa are excellent target sites for gene therapy since it can be readily accomplished with minimal invasive manner. This makes dentists as suitable candidate for gene therapy. Aim of this article is to focus in brief on the basic principles of gene therapy, its applications in the field of dentistry and its limitations and disadvantages.