Special Issue "Dental Materials"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Jorge Perdigão
University of Minnesota, Department of Restorative Sciences, Division of Operative Dentistry, 515 SE Delaware St, 8-450 Moos Tower, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Website: http://www.dentistry.umn.edu/facultystaff/faculty_bios/Perdigao,_Jorge/home.html
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Dear Colleagues,

Dental research has been transitioning gradually from the classical Restorative Dentistry to Regenerative Dentistry. Regeneration of a functional tooth is a promising strategy for replacing an irreversibly diseased tooth. Pulp-like tissue can now be regenerated in root canal space by stem cells and give rise to odontoblast-like cells producing dentin-like tissue. Three-dimensional porous scaffolds made of mineralized type I collagen mimic the composition of extracellular matrix ofbone and can therefore have the potential of being used as a biomimetic graft material. Additionally, the role of RNA interference (RNAi) and RNA activation (RNAa) may prove to be crucial to treat or prevent dental anomalies and periodontal disease.

The role of metalloproteinases (or MMP’s) inhibitors in preventing the degradation of dentinal collagen fibers has been recently highlighted in dentin adhesion. Other promising areas of research in dental adhesion are the application of colloidal platinum nanoparticles, and guided tissue mineralization to re-mineralize areas etched by phosphoric acid but not infiltrated by the adhesive.

Some of the dental materials recently introduced - low-shrinkage resin composites and Y-TZP-based fixed prostheses - have changed some of the classical concepts of clinical dentistry.

For the first time in 40 years, dentists are using a non-BisGMA resin composite. Shrinkage stresses are reduced with the new silorane-based resin composites. The relevance of using low- or no-shrinking composite materials is that internal stresses occur during the polymerization of all dental composites due to a volumetric contraction. These shrinkage stresses may cause interfacial failures between the restoration and the tooth structure.

Yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP) and titanium implants have been increasingly used in Dentistry. Y-TZP is used as the infrastructure for crowns, bridges and implant abutments. Research in Clinical Orthopedics has shown that Y-TZP used in hip arthroplasties may undergo transformation under mechanical and/or hydrothermal stress, with degradation of mechanical and tribologic properties. It is not known if these alterations also occur in Y-TZP dental restorations.

Jorge Perdigão, Ph.D.
Guest Editor

Related Special Issue

Dental Materials in International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Submission

All manuscripts should be submitted to materials@mdpi.org with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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• nanotechnology in dentistry
• biocompatibility
• dental pulp & regeneration
• scaffold materials
• stem cells in dentistry
• dental tissue bioengineering
• RNA interference
• dentin ultrastructure & adhesion
• dentin MMP's & collagen
• non-shrinking composite materials
• biodegradation of Y-TZP
• optimization of dental implant surfaces

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Strategy Transition in Antibacterial Resin Composites: From Released Antibacterial Molecules to Insoluble Nanoparticles
Authors: Nurit Beyth, Ira Yudovin-Farber, Abraham J. Domb and Ervin I. Weiss
Affiliation: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; E-Mail: nuritb@ekmd.huji.ac.il
Abstract: Resin composites accumulate more dental plaque compared to enamel and other restorations. In addition, resin composites require modification to filler or matrix phases to possess antibacterial properties. In this paper we discuss advantages and disadvantages of various released or non-released antibacterial agents. Strategy transition based on use of antimicrobial polymeric macromolecules is suggested, focusing on polycationic antimicrobials. Particularly, polyethyleneimine nanoparticles are presented as a possible solution to the disadvantages of released antiseptic agents. Developing agents with strong antimicrobial activity upon contact that does not diminish over time nor affects the materials’ biocompatibility should be a focus of future research.