Natural Polymers for the Maintenance of Oral Health: Review of Recent Advances and Perspectives

Abstract

The success of modern dental treatment is strongly dependent on the materials used both temporarily and permanently. Among all dental materials, polymers are a very important class with a wide spectrum of applications. This review aims to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the recent advances in the field of natural polymers used to maintain or restore oral health. It focuses on the properties of the most common proteins and polysaccharides of natural origin in terms of meeting the specific biological requirements in the increasingly demanding field of modern dentistry. The use of naturally derived polymers in different dental specialties for preventive and therapeutic purposes has been discussed. The major fields of application cover caries and the management of periodontal diseases, the fabrication of membranes and scaffolds for the regeneration of dental structures, the manufacturing of oral appliances and dentures as well as providing systems for oral drug delivery. This paper also includes a comparative characteristic of natural and synthetic dental polymers. Finally, the current review highlights new perspectives, possible future advancements, as well as challenges that may be encountered by researchers in the field of dental applications of polymers of natural origin.

Denture Acrylic Resin Material with Antibacterial and Protein-Repelling Properties for the Prevention of Denture Stomatitis

“…Alternatively, natural polymers have been attempted as novel methods to enhance the antimicrobial properties of dental appliances. For example, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was modified with chitosan, a natural polymer with antibacterial and antifungal properties [47,48]. Nawasrah et al found that adding henna (Lawsonia inermis), an inexpensive natural extract that has antifungal propertie, to acrylic denture base material may control the proliferation of C. albicans [49].…”

Dentigerous Cysts with Diverse Radiological Presentation Highlighting Diagnostic Challenges

“…The treatment of DC is represented by enucleation followed by curettage. It has been proposed that natural polymers may favorably help bone regeneration [ 25 ].…”

Polymer‐Modified Micromotors with Biomedical Applications: Promotion of Functionalization

“…[21,22] Materials based on natural polymers possess many beneficial properties such as biocompatibility, good availability, biodegradability, and low acquisition and production cost. [23][24][25][26][27][28] Typical natural polymers in the biomedical field include starch, polypeptides, albumin, sodium alginate, chitin, gelatin, and cellulose. Synthetic polymers of polyethylene glycol (PEG), polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), and polycaprolactone (PCL) exhibit good biocompatibility and biodegradability and are widely used in many biomedical applications.…”

“…[31,32] For the polymer selection, its safety to the environment, different tissues, and organs of the body should be considered to eliminate the risk of leaching or diffusion of toxic components from the material. [26] The design and application of organic polymers used in micromotor fabrication in different situations need further research. Many factors, such as biocompatibility, pharmacokinetics, in vivo targeting efficacy, and cost-effectiveness, [33,34] still need to be optimized to perform a wide variety of biomedical tasks, such as drug delivery, [35] bioimaging, [36] microsurgery, [37] and biological target separation.…”