Antiadherence and Antimicrobial Properties of Silver Nanoparticles against Streptococcus mutans on Brackets and Wires Used for Orthodontic Treatments

Abstract

White spot lesions (WSLs) are very frequent alterations during orthodontic treatments causing demineralization of the dental enamel. Various dental treatments have been developed to prevent WSLs; the prevalence and incidence of these lesions remain significantly high. Although silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have demonstrated good inhibitory effects against several microorganisms, more studies about antiadherence activity on different orthodontic appliance surfaces are necessary. To determine the inhibitory effect and antiadherence activity of AgNPs on the adhesion of S. mutans on surfaces of brackets and wires for orthodontic therapies, two sizes of AgNPs were prepared and characterized. The evaluation of S. mutans adhesion was performed with microbiological assays on surfaces of brackets and orthodontic modules in triplicate. Topographic characteristics of orthodontic brackets and wires were made by scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. All AgNP samples inhibited S. mutans adhesion; however, the smaller AgNPs had better inhibition than the larger ones. The presence of the module influenced the adhesion of S. mutans but not in the activity of AgNPs. The AgNPs used in this study showed to have good antimicrobial and antiadherence properties against S. mutans bacteria determining its high potential use for the control of WSLs in orthodontic treatments.

<p>The Antibacterial Mechanism of Silver Nanoparticles and Its Application in Dentistry</p>

“…34 They can affect the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans to the materials by contact with bacteria and inhibit bacterial action around brackets and wires by the release of silver ions. 35 In addition, the materials can release silver ions for 4 months to exert a long-term antibacterial effect. Materials with silver nanoparticles are biocompatible and have no significant cytotoxic or mutagenic effects.…”

Comparison of the microbial flora from different orthodontic archwires using a cultivation method and PCR: A prospective study

“…The other reason is thought to be due to the increased level of motivation in the toothbrushing activity described as the Hawthorne effect . In contrast to this result, Abraham et al and Espinosa et al reported that more microbial adhesion was detected in CuNiTi archwires than NiTi archwires in their studies.…”

“…It was reported that the increase in surface roughness and surface free energy of archwires caused an increment in bacterial adhesion . Watanabe et al, Krishnan et al and Doshi et al reported that TMA archwires have more surface roughness than NiTi archwires.…”

“…Yu et al noticed that NiTi and SE NiTi archwires have similar surface roughness. Also, it was informed that CuNiTi archwires have more surface roughness and Streptococcus sp adhesion than NiTi archwires in previous studies …”

“…The archwires used in orthodontics have different surface properties. Microbial dental plaque adhesion has been reported to be more pronounced in the archwires with high surface roughness …”