Targeting the oral plaque microbiome with immobilized anti-biofilm peptides at tooth-restoration interfaces

Abstract

Recurrent caries, the development of carious lesions at the interface between the restorative material and the tooth structure, is highly prevalent and represents the primary cause for failure of dental restorations. Correspondingly, we exploited the self-assembly and strong antibiofilm activity of amphipathic antimicrobial peptides (AAMPs) to form novel coatings on dentin that aimed to prevent recurrent caries at susceptible cavosurface margins. AAMPs are alternative to traditional antimicrobial agents and antibiotics with the ability to target the complex and heterogeneous organization of microbial communities. Unlike approaches that have focused on using these AAMPs in aqueous solutions for a transient activity, here we assess the effects on microcosm biofilms of a long-acting AAMPs-based antibiofilm coating to protect the tooth-composite interface. Genomewise, we studied the impact of AAMPs coatings on the dental plaque microbial community. We found that nonnative all D-amino acids AAMPs coatings induced a marked shift in the plaque community and selectively targeted three primary acidogenic colonizers, including the most common taxa around Class II composite restorations. Accordingly, we investigated the translational potential of our antibiofilm dentin using multiphoton pulsed near infra-red laser for deep bioimaging to assess the impact of AAMPs-coated dentin on plaque biofilms along dentin-composite interfaces. Multiphoton enabled us to record the antibiofilm potency of AAMPscoated dentin on plaque biofilms throughout exaggeratedly failed interfaces. In conclusion, AAMPs-coatings on dentin showed selective and long-acting antibiofilm activity against three dominant acidogenic colonizers and potential to resist recurrent caries to promote and sustain the interfacial integrity of adhesive-based interfaces.

Multivalent network modifier upregulates bioactivity of multispecies biofilm-resistant polyalkenoate cement

“…Interventions with PACs and other materials aid in treating the lesion locally, but reports of recurrence have drawn attention towards a critical need to prevent biofilm formation by explicitly targeting the responsible microorganisms [ 49 ]. The present study results are particularly encouraging when the refractory nature of the biofilm-associated periapical and periodontal bone loss is considered [ 50 ].…”

Novel lactotransferrin-derived synthetic peptides suppress cariogenic bacteria in vitro and arrest dental caries in vivo

“…This issue might be addressed by appropriately adjusting the LF-2 sequence or by introducing positively charged residues to balance the antibacterial activity with cytotoxicity [ 48 ]. To date, a series of clinical application studies have investigated AMPs combating dental caries [ 54 , 55 ], and we should identify future clinical application possibilities for these peptides in the composite-tooth interface, the coating of tooth surfaces, and oral hygiene products.…”

Functional Biomarkers of Ex-vivo Dental Caries Onset

“…Fourteen pairs of polished teeth specimens were screened initially with the stereomicroscope then analyzed at high magnification with non-invasive MP-SHG advanced microscopy to distinguish any early lesions or structural anomalies according to the protocol we previously developed for dental hard tissue bioimaging (36, 37). MP-SHG collects the MP fluorescence signals emitted from the mineralized phase, mainly in enamel, and the SHG signals emitted from the collagen network, exclusively in dentin, non-linearly and via 2 separate channels without labelling and in fully-hydrated conditions (32).…”