Nanomaterials in Dentistry: State of the Art and Future Challenges

Abstract

Nanomaterials are commonly considered as those materials in which the shape and molecular composition at a nanometer scale can be controlled. Subsequently, they present extraordinary properties that are being useful for the development of new and improved applications in many fields, including medicine. In dentistry, several research efforts are being conducted, especially during the last decade, for the improvement of the properties of materials used in dentistry. The objective of the present article is to offer the audience a complete and comprehensive review of the main applications that have been developed in dentistry, by the use of these materials, during the last two decades. It was shown how these materials are improving the treatments in mainly all the important areas of dentistry, such as endodontics, periodontics, implants, tissue engineering and restorative dentistry. The scope of the present review is, subsequently, to revise the main applications regarding nano-shaped materials in dentistry, including nanorods, nanofibers, nanotubes, nanospheres/nanoparticles, and zeolites and other orders porous materials. The results of the bibliographic analysis show that the most explored nanomaterials in dentistry are graphene and carbon nanotubes, and their derivatives. A detailed analysis and a comparative study of their applications show that, although they are quite similar, graphene-based materials seem to be more promising for most of the applications of interest in dentistry. The bibliographic study also demonstrated the potential of zeolite-based materials, although the low number of studies on their applications shows that they have not been totally explored, as well as other porous nanomaterials that have found important applications in medicine, such as metal organic frameworks, have not been explored. Subsequently, it is expected that the research effort will concentrate on graphene and zeolite-based materials in the coming years. Thus, the present review paper presents a detailed bibliographic study, with more than 200 references, in order to briefly describe the main achievements that have been described in dentistry using nanomaterials, compare and analyze them in a critical way, with the aim of predicting the future challenges.

Polyblend Nanofibers to Regenerate Gingival Tissue: A Preliminary In Vitro Study

“…The development of new technologies and devices may help in the regeneration of the oral soft tissues, thus allowing to obtain a physiologically stable masticatory apparatus and to reach an optimal aesthetic. An emerging and increasingly widespread innovation in dentistry is the use of nanotechnologies for oral tissue regeneration (Ahadian et al, 2020;Bonilla-Represa et al, 2020;Mohandesnezhad et al, 2020).…”

“…Several studies proposed the use of nanofibers to regenerate (Gunn et al, 2010;Chanda et al, 2018) or deliver substances and compounds (Amler et al, 2014;Ahadian et al, 2020) in different tissues (Wang et al, 2017;Beznoska et al, 2019); however, only few preliminary published articles are available in oral fields (Bonilla-Represa et al, 2020;Mohandesnezhad et al, 2020).…”

Engineering Polymeric Nanosystems against Oral Diseases

“…With a similar purpose, Osorio et al assessed their nanoMyP system loaded with calcium and zinc ions, which both exhibit antimicrobial activity [ 13 , 14 ]. Furthermore, calcium is associated with an improved osteogenic ability [ 11 ] and increased osteoconductivity [ 12 ], whilst zinc may also play a role in collagen protection from MMPs degradation [ 15 ].…”

“…The popularity of NPs originates from the intriguing characteristics deriving precisely from the small scale, which include an extremely high-surface area to volume, but coupled with synthetic versatility which results in adjustable surface charge, tailorable cargo-loading and cargo-release capability, and ultimately versatility for the surface decoration with specific chemical moieties. This latter feature, together with the type of material (e.g., polymers) used for the fabrication, can guarantee extremely high biocompatibility/biodegradability, paramount in the case of healthcare and drug-delivery applications in medicine and dentistry [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

An Overview of RNA-Based Scaffolds for Osteogenesis

“…Implant characteristics, including the surface topography, chemistry, and mechanical properties, have a significant effect on osteogenesis and bacterial inhibition. For instance, nano-topographical surfaces, including nanorods, nanofibers, nanotubes, and nanowires, have demonstrated the ability to perform molecular-scale medical interventions for repairing damaged tissue ( Bonilla-Represa et al, 2020 ). The possibility to functionalize the materials can be applied through different ways either physically such as surface wettability modification, or chemically, as with acid/alkaline treatment ( Damiati et al, 2018 ).…”