Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1.5 Future considerations
Biomedical scientists and clinicians all over the world are working toward prevention and early
delivery of care to maintain human health. It is envisaged that nanotechnology will have a great
impact in dental research and improvement in current treatment methodologies leading to superior
oral health care in the near future.
Nanomaterials will be used far more widely and will yield superior properties and when com-
bined with biotechnology, laser and digital guided surgery will thus provide excellent dental care.
Smarter preventive measures and earlier interventions to avert craniofacial disorders using nano-
diagnostics seem a reality. Nanotechnology research will definitely pave the way for development
of tools, which would allow clinicians to diagnose and treat oral malignancies at their earliest
stage.
Biomimetics and nanotechnology have given us the knowledge to bioengineer lost tooth and
remineralization of carious lesions. This is one field which has stimulated immense interest among
the dental and nanotechnology researchers. Salivary glands can be a gateway to the body for the
delivery of precise molecular therapies using nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems with fewer
side effects. Nanofillers have improved the esthetic, physical, and mechanical properties of dental
composite materials.
Futuristic applications have been proposed on utilizing nanobots (nanoscale robots) to treat cari-
ous lesions, dentin hypersensitivity, induce dental anesthesia, teeth repositioning (using orthodontic
nanobots that could directly manipulate periodontal tissues allowing rapid, painless movement).
Dentifrobots (nanorobots in dentifrices) delivered through mouthwash or toothpaste could patrol
supra- and subgingival surfaces of tooth performing continuous plaque/calculus removal and metab-
olize trapped organic matter into harmless and odorless vapor. These proposals may seemingly
look outrageous, but inventions have always been the brainchildren of outrageous ideas of the sci-
entific community. Predictive tools like “lab-on-a-chip” can utilize saliva as a media to diagnose
dental and other physical anomalies of the human body.
1.6 Nanobiomaterials in clinical dentistry
There has been a huge surge in the number of studies over the recent few years focusing on the
clinical applications of nanobiomaterials in dentistry. This topic aims to address these recent devel-
opments and is an effort to bring concepts and research studies in this interdisciplinary field under
one roof. The topic has been divided into various sections to give the readers an idea about the
specific applications and uses of nanobiomaterials in various dental specialties like preventive den-
tistry, orthodontics, prosthodontics, periodontics, implant dentistry, dental tissue engineering, and
endodontics. The last section discusses the use of saliva for diagnostic purposes and the potential
use of nanoparticles as dental drug delivery systems and their biocompatibility/toxicity. While this
chapter discusses the basic concepts of nanotechnology, the second chapter gives a general over-
view of the applications of nanobiomaterials in dentistry. CNTs have been gaining increased inter-
est among the scientific community for
their excellent physical and mechanical properties.
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