Interplay between Dental Biomaterials and Intraoral Environment: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Dear Colleagues,

Oral saliva may have two major interactions with biomaterials and clear aligners: firstly, it is involved in the contamination of biomaterials, leading to biofilm formation and microbial colonization; secondly, temperature, enzymes, and humidity may affect the physical and chemical properties of biomaterials.

On the other hand, the constant exposition of biomaterials to intraoral enzymes leads to the intraoral release of substances that must be elucidated in terms of biocompatibility (cytotoxicity and inflammatory response).

We need to investigate the effects of saliva on the physical, chemical, and microbiological properties and clinical performance of biomaterials.

The main topics for the Special Issue are presented below:

• Mechanical properties: resistance to mechanical wear, load and forces produced by different biomaterials;
• Optical properties: transparency/opacity of different biomedical materials;
• Chemical properties: effects of the intraoral aging of biomaterial properties;
• Microbiological properties: biofilm development on the aligners’ surfaces after use and microbiological colonization of different oral devices;
• Biological materials: in vitro cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of different clear aligner materials after incubation in saliva.

Dr. Edoardo Staderini
Dr. Patrizia Gallenzi
Dr. Michele Tepedino
Guest Editors

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