Developing a new generation of therapeutic dental polymers to inhibit oral biofilms and protect teeth
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Date
2018-09-17
Authors
Zhang, Ke
Baras, Bashayer
Lynch, Christopher D.
Weir, Michael D.
Melo, Mary Anne S.
Li, Yuncong
Reynolds, Mark A.
Bai, Yuxing
Wang, Lin
Wang, Suping
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published Version
Abstract
Polymeric tooth-colored restorations are increasingly popular in dentistry. However, restoration failures remain a major challenge, and more than 50% of all operative work was devoted to removing and replacing the failed restorations. This is a heavy burden, with the expense for restoring dental cavities in the U.S. exceeding $46 billion annually. In addition, the need is increasing dramatically as the population ages with increasing tooth retention in seniors. Traditional materials for cavity restorations are usually bioinert and replace the decayed tooth volumes. This article reviews cutting-edge research on the synthesis and evaluation of a new generation of bioactive dental polymers that not only restore the decayed tooth structures, but also have therapeutic functions. These materials include polymeric composites and bonding agents for tooth cavity restorations that inhibit saliva-based microcosm biofilms, bioactive resins for tooth root caries treatments, polymers that can suppress periodontal pathogens, and root canal sealers that can kill endodontic biofilms. These novel compositions substantially inhibit biofilm growth, greatly reduce acid production and polysaccharide synthesis of biofilms, and reduce biofilm colony-forming units by three to four orders of magnitude. This new class of bioactive and therapeutic polymeric materials is promising to inhibit tooth decay, suppress recurrent caries, control oral biofilms and acid production, protect the periodontium, and heal endodontic infections.
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Keywords
Polymeric composites , Bonding agents , Antibacterial , Oral biofilms , Periodontal pathogens , Caries inhibition
Citation
Zhang, K., Baras, B., Lynch, C., Weir, M., Melo, M., Li, Y., Reynolds, M., Bai, Y., Wang, L., Wang, S. and Xu, H., 2018. Developing a new generation of therapeutic dental polymers to inhibit oral biofilms and protect teeth. Materials, 11(9),(1747). DOI:10.3390/ma11091747