Prospects of nanodentistry for the diagnosis and treatment of maxillofacial pathologies and cancers

Abstract

Despite the commendable milestones achieved in molecular maxillofacial pathology in the last decade, there remains a paucity of utilization of ancillary nanomolecular tools that complement the omics-based approaches. As the advent of omics science transforms our understanding of tumour biology from a phenomenological to a complex network (systems-oriented) paradigm, several ancillary tools have emerged to improve the scope of individualized medicine. Targeted nano drug delivery systems have significantly reduced toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents in a precise manner. Many conventional cancer therapies are limited in efficacy and this has led to the emergence of nanomedical innovations. Despite the success of nanomedicine, a major challenge that persists is tumour heterogeneity and biological complexity. A good understanding of the interaction between inorganic nanoparticles and the biological systems has led to the development of better tools for individualized medicine. Tools such as the composite organic-inorganic nanoparticles (COINs) and the quantum dots (QD) have significantly improved the identification and quantification of disease biomarkers, histopathological detection methods, as well as improving the clinical translation and utility of these nanomaterials. Nanomedicine has lent credence to several multipronged theranostic applications in medicine, and this has improved the medical practice tremendously. Despite the palpable influence of nanomedicine on the delivery of individualized medical therapies, the term “nanodentistry” remains in the background without much hype, albeit some progress has been made in this area. Hence, this review discusses the potential and challenges of nanodentistry in the diagnosis and treatment of maxillofacial pathologies, particularly cancer in resource-limited settings.

Nanodiamonds in biomedical research: Therapeutic applications and beyond

“…Lisik and Krokosz (2021) report that NDs also have been under investigation in dental implantology to both direct bone growth and reduce inflammation that can lead to periodontitis. A recent review of ND technology for maxillofacial pathologies and cancers cites current research in ND applications ranging from cavity (caries) prevention and restoration of decayed tooth enamel to enhanced osteointegration of dental implants to regeneration of lost periodontal tissue ( 127 ). NDs are even being investigated as a potential augmentation and enhancement for gutta percha, the filler material used to replace extracted dental pulp after root canal.…”

Exploiting Nanomaterials for Optical Coherence Tomography and Photoacoustic Imaging in Nanodentistry

“…Nanodentistry deals mainly with nanobiomaterials applied to dentistry and is a growing field of research with high potential for clinical translation [4,5,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. It is a term also employed when characterization techniques in the nanoscale regime are employed for dental materials and tissues.…”

Utilization of Nanomaterials in Target Oriented Drug Delivery Vehicles

“…The mechanism of action of nanorobot for the treatment of cancerous cells is explained in Fig. 5 [56,57]. Some recent works on the mechanism/function, formulation, and types of nanorobots have been presented in Table 3.…”