What Constitutes an Ideal Dental Restorative Material?
Intense environmental concerns recently have prompted dentistry to evaluate the performance and environmental impact of existing restoration materials. Doing so entices us to explore the ‘what if?’ innovation in materials science to create more ideal restorative materials. Articulating a specification for our design and evaluation methods is proving to be more complicated than originally anticipated. Challenges exist not only in specifying how the material should be manipulated and perform clinically but also in understanding and incorporating implications of the skill of the operator placing the restoration, e...
Source: Advances in dental research - October 15, 2013 Category: Dentistry Authors: Rekow, E. D., Bayne, S. C., Carvalho, R. M., Steele, J. G. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Challenge for Innovation in Direct Restorative Materials
During the past 50 years, a series of key UN conferences have established a framework to minimize human health risks from environmental exposures to key chemicals. In January 2013, more than 140 countries agreed to the text of new treaty to minimize Hg effects on the environment (the Minamata Convention). Dental caries is omnipresent around the globe, affecting 60% to 90% of school children and most adults, and producing discomfort that affects quality of life. Dental amalgam is frequently used to treat carious lesions and its use releases mercury into the environment. The best way to avoid the use of dental amalgam is to ...
Source: Advances in dental research - October 15, 2013 Category: Dentistry Authors: Bayne, S., Petersen, P. E., Piper, D., Schmalz, G., Meyer, D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Future Innovation and Research in Dental Restorative Materials
(Source: Advances in dental research)
Source: Advances in dental research - October 15, 2013 Category: Dentistry Authors: Rekow, E. D., Fox, C. H., Watson, T., Petersen, P. E. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Multidisciplinary Research Agenda for Novel Antimicrobial Agents for Caries Prevention and Treatment
Antimicrobial methods to augment fluoride-mediated caries inhibition are necessary. Several methods are described here, but none was considered likely to be as effective as fluoride usage. None had been tested in effective models to demonstrate their ability to act either additively or synergistically with fluoride-containing toothpastes. Dental caries is a biofilm-mediated disease: The composition of the biofilm associated with caries initiation and progression is diverse. Caries-associated taxa – including mutans streptococci, lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, and yeasts – may be useful surrogate markers for in v...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Maltz, M., Beighton, D. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Remineralization Models
During the ICNARA 2 conference, a workshop was held on remineralization models. The group considered the role of remineralization models, whether there was one ideal in situ model design, what essential features should be incorporated into an in situ model, other alternative models, and what new methods for measuring remineralization were on the horizon. This paper summarizes the discussion. In situ and other caries models can be used as a surrogate for caries clinical trials but only when data exist to validate the model. In situ model design should be flexible to allow for investigation of different aspects of the caries...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Cochrane, N. J., Zero, D. T., Reynolds, E. C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Are We Ready for Definitive Clinical Guidelines on Xylitol/Polyol Use?
In the past decades, numerous studies have looked at the anticaries effects of polyols, particularly xylitol, and a great many studies have focused on xylitol’s antimicrobial properties. Researched vehicles have mostly included chewing gums, followed by lozenges/candies, toothpastes, and others (e.g., syrup). Good evidence supports the claims that xylitol is non-cariogenic and has a dose-/frequency-dependent antimicrobial effect on dental plaque/mutans streptococci, and that polyol use is very safe. However, interpretation of caries data has been controversial, due in part to variability in study designs, formulation...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Fontana, M., Gonzalez-Cabezas, C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Clinical Efficacy and Effects of Xylitol Wipes on Bacterial Virulence
The aim of the study was to investigate whether xylitol-wipe use in young children prevented caries by affecting bacterial virulence. In a double-blinded randomized controlled clinical trial, 44 mother-child pairs were randomized to xylitol-wipe or placebo-wipe groups. Salivary mutans streptococci levels were enumerated at baseline, 6 months, and one year. Ten mutans streptococci colonies were isolated and genotyped from each saliva sample. Genotype-colonization stability, xylitol sensitivity, and biofilm formation of these isolates were studied. Despite a significant reduction in new caries at one year in the xylitol-wipe...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Zhan, L., Featherstone, J. D. B., Lo, J., Krupansky, C., Hoang, N., DenBesten, P., Huynh, T. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Clinical Evidence for Polyol Efficacy
Xylitol is a safe dental caries preventive when incorporated into chewing gum or confections used habitually. The goal of this paper is to identify and assess the work on xylitol and other polyols and dental caries since 2008. Xylitol is effective when used by the mother prenatally or after delivery to prevent mutans transmission and subsequent dental caries in the offspring. One new completed trial confirmed that children of mothers who used xylitol lozenges after delivery had less dental caries than a comparison group. A similar study confirmed that the use of xylitol gum by the mother either prevented or postponed MS tr...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Milgrom, P., Soderling, E. M., Nelson, S., Chi, D. L., Nakai, Y. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The Numerous Microbial Species in Oral Biofilms: How Could Antibacterial Therapy Be Effective?
This article addresses some of the questions that can be raised and serves to identify research opportunities and needs to leverage the prevention of oral diseases through novel antimicrobial strategies. (Source: Advances in dental research)
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: ten Cate, J. M., Zaura, E. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Light Therapy: Complementary Antibacterial Treatment of Oral Biofilm
Conventional antibacterial treatment fails to eradicate biofilms associated with common infections of the oral cavity. Unlike chemical agents, which are less effective than anticipated, owing to diffusion limitations in biofilms, light is more effective on bacteria in biofilm than in suspension. Effectiveness depends also on the type and parameters of the light. We tested the phototoxic effects of non-coherent blue light (wavelengths, 400-500 nm) and CO2 laser (wavelength, 10.6 μm), which have different mechanisms of action on the oral bacterium Streptoccocus mutans, in biofilm and on tooth enamel. Exposure of S. mutans...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Feuerstein, O. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Probiotics for Caries Prevention and Control
Modulation of the microbiota for restoring and maintaining health is a growing issue in medical science. A search for relevant clinical trials on the use of probiotic bacteria as a potential and clinically applicable anti-caries measure was performed. According to predetermined criteria, papers were selected and key data on study design, sample size, intervention, duration, and results were extracted. Two animal and 19 human studies were retrieved. Most studies were short-term and restricted to microbiological endpoints, and only 3 human studies reported a caries endpoint. A high degree of heterogeneity among the included ...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Twetman, S., Keller, M. K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Targeted Antimicrobial Treatment to Re-establish a Healthy Microbial Flora for Long-term Protection
Streptococcus mutans has been implicated as the major acid-producing (cariogenic) bacterium. Dietary sugars and other factors may cause an imbalance of oral microflora that enables S. mutans to become dominant in the multi-species biofilms on the tooth surface, which could lead to dental caries. The application of broad-spectrum antimicrobials often results in re-colonization and re-dominance of S. mutans within oral flora, while in contrast, therapies capable of selective elimination of S. mutans from oral microbial communities may help to re-establish the normal flora and provide long-term protection. C16G2, a novel synt...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Eckert, R., Sullivan, R., Shi, W. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Strategic Protein Target Analysis for Developing Drugs to Stop Dental Caries
Dental caries is the most common disease to cause irreversible damage in humans. Several therapeutic agents are available to treat or prevent dental caries, but none besides fluoride has significantly influenced the disease burden globally. Etiologic mechanisms of the mutans group streptococci and specific Lactobacillus species have been characterized to various degrees of detail, from identification of physiologic processes to specific proteins. Here, we analyze the entire Streptococcus mutans proteome for potential drug targets by investigating their uniqueness with respect to non-cariogenic dental plaque bacteria, quali...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Horst, J. A., Pieper, U., Sali, A., Zhan, L., Chopra, G., Samudrala, R., Featherstone, J. D. B. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Next-generation Sequencing Approaches to Understanding the Oral Microbiome
Until recently, the focus in dental research has been on studying a small fraction of the oral microbiome—so-called opportunistic pathogens. With the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, researchers now have the tools that allow for profiling of the microbiomes and metagenomes at unprecedented depths. The major advantages of NGS are the high throughput and the fact that specific taxa do not need to be targeted. The relatively low cost and the availability of sequencing facilities have contributed to nearly exponential growth of NGS datasets. The quality and interpretation of the NGS data could be ...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Zaura, E. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Progress Dissecting the Oral Microbiome in Caries and Health
Recent rapid advances in "-omics" technologies have yielded new insights into the interaction of the oral microbiome with its host. Associations of species that are usually considered to be acid-tolerant with caries have been confirmed, while some recognized as health-associated are often present in greater proportions in the absence of caries. In addition, some newly identified bacteria have been suggested as potential contributors to the caries process. In spite of this progress, two major challenges remain. The first is that there is a great deal of heterogeneity in the phenotypic capabilities of individual species of o...
Source: Advances in dental research - August 16, 2012 Category: Dentistry Authors: Burne, R. A., Zeng, L., Ahn, S. J., Palmer, S. R., Liu, Y., Lefebure, T., Stanhope, M. J., Nascimento, M. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
