Comparative characterization of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth, dental pulp, and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

•We compared the in vitro characteristics of dental pulp stem cells from deciduous teeth (SHED), human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs), and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs).•SHED exhibit greater proliferative potential than hDPSCs and hBMSCs.•SHED exhibited higher proliferative activity and levels of bFGF and BMP-2 gene expression compared with BMMSCs and DPSCs. The ease of harvesting cells and ability to avoid invasive surgical procedures suggest that SHED may be a useful cell source for application in bone regeneration treatments.