Oral cavity incessantly encounters a plethora of microorganisms. Plaque biofilm—a major cause of caries, periodontitis and other dental diseases—is a complex community of bacteria or fungi that causes infection by protecting pathogenic microorganisms from external drug agents and escaping the host defense mechanisms. Antimicrobial nanoparticles are promising because of several advantages such as ultra-small sizes, large surface-area-to-mass ratio and special physical and chemical properties. To better summarize explorations of antimicrobial nanoparticles and provide directions for future studies, we present the following critical review. The keywords “nanoparticle,” “anti-infective or antibacterial or antimicrobial” and “dentistry” were retrieved from Pubmed, Scopus, Embase and Web of Science databases in the last five years. A total of 172 articles met the requirements were included and discussed in this review. The results show that superior antibacterial properties of nanoparticle biomaterials bring broad prospects in the oral field. This review presents the development, applications and underneath mechanisms of antibacterial nanoparticles in dentistry including restorative dentistry, endodontics, implantology, orthodontics, dental prostheses and periodontal field.

MSC-like populations exist within inflamed gingival tissue that are functionally equivalent to MSC-like cells derived from healthy gingival tissue. Given the relative abundance of inflamed gingival tissue and ease of accessibility, MSC-like cells from inflamed gingival tissues represent a newly identified population of postnatal stem cells with immense potential in tissue engineering applications.

SDF-1 may have the potential of promoting periodontal tissue regeneration by the mechanism of guiding PDLSCs to destructive periodontal tissue, promoting their activation and proliferation and influencing the differentiation of these stem cells.

Background: A nanohydroxyapatite-coated chitosan scaffold has been developed in recent years, but the effect of this composite scaffold on the viability and differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) and bone repair is still unknown. This study explored the behavior of PDLSCs on a new nanohydroxyapatite-coated genipin-chitosan conjunction scaffold (HGCCS) in vitro as compared with an uncoated genipin-chitosan framework, and evaluated the effect of PDLSC-seeded HGCCS on bone repair in vivo. Methods: Human PDLSCs were cultured and identified, seeded on a HGCCS and on a genipinchitosan framework, and assessed by scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, MTT, alkaline phosphatase activity, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction at different time intervals. Moreover, PDLSC-seeded scaffolds were used in a rat calvarial defect model, and new bone formation was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining at 12 weeks postoperatively. Results: PDLSCs were clonogenic and positive for STRO-1. They had the capacity to undergo osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation in vitro. When seeded on HGCCS, PDLSCs exhibited significantly greater viability, alkaline phosphatase activity, and upregulated the bone-related markers, bone sialoprotein, osteopontin, and osteocalcin to a greater extent compared with PDLSCs seeded on the genipin-chitosan framework. The use of PDLSC-seeded HGCCS promoted calvarial bone repair. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the potential of HGCCS combined with PDLSCs as a promising tool for bone regeneration.

Gingiva-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (GMSCs) have been considered as a promising alternative strategy for periodontal regeneration based on their potential for multilineage differentiation in vitro and the ability to form new bone in vivo. In order to investigate the capacity of GMSCs for periodontal regeneration and the fate of GMSCs during periodontal tissue repair, enhanced green fluorescent protein-labeled GMSCs were transplanted into class III furcation defects created in beagle dogs. The results showed that the transplanted GMSCs significantly enhanced the regeneration of the damaged periodontal tissue, including the alveolar bone, cementum and functional periodontal ligament (PDL). Moreover, GMSCs were able to differentiate into osteoblasts, cementoblasts and PDL fibroblasts in vivo. These findings indicate that GMSCs represent a novel cell source for periodontal tissue reconstruction.

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As a biocompatible and low cytotoxic nanomaterial, graphene oxide (GO) has captured tremendous interests in tissue engineering. However, little is known about the behavior of dental stem cells on GO. This study was to evaluate the bioactivity of human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) on GO coated titanium (GO-Ti) substrate in vitro as compared to sodium titanate (Na-Ti) substrate. By scanning electron microscope (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis, we investigated the attachment, morphology, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs on these two substrates. When seeded on GO-Ti substrate, PDLSCs exhibited significantly higher proliferation rate, ALP activity and up-regulated gene expression level of osteogenesis-related markers of collagen type I (COL-I), ALP, bone sialoprotein (BSP), runt related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteocalcin (OCN) compared with those on Na-Ti substrate. Moreover, GO promoted the protein expression of BSP, Runx2 and OCN. These findings suggest that the combination of GO and PDLSCs provides a promising construct for regenerative dentistry.

Multipotent DFCs can be induced to differentiate towards osteoblasts, adipocytes or chondrocytes in vitro. Runx2 over-expression up-regulated expression levels of osteoblast/cementoblast-related genes and in vitro enhanced osteogenic differentiation of DFCs. In addition, mutant Runx2-induced changes in DFCs were more prominent than those induced by full-length Runx2.