Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the former being attributed to CaP and its improved adhesion by carboxymethyl cellulose and the
latter to the controlled release of chlorhexidine. Nanoparticles can be applied either as dispersion
(mouth rinse) or as a paste. The functionalized nanoparticles showed a higher adsorption on tooth
surfaces (enamel and dentin) and the ability to close open dentin tubules. The authors concluded
that these nanoparticles represent a very promising tool to improve oral hygiene and dental treat-
ment in cases of common enamel and/or dentin erosion, dentin hypersensivity, gingivitis, and
marginal periodontitis.
A novel patent
[82]
proposes the use of an organic dye-encapsulated silica shell nanosphere for
minimizing color fading by oral-care compositions containing peroxide and fluoride ions. The
methods to prepare the nanospheres include the water-in-oil microemulsion method, the condensa-
tion method using silica and dye precursors and the silicate crystal growth technique. The results
clearly indicated that color loss due to a redox reaction between the peroxide species and the dye
was minimized by using dye-encapsulated silica.
23.4
Future trends
Several nanomaterials have been proposed for dental applications showing clear advantages com-
pared to their conventional formulations. A number of these have potential applications but further
research is required in order to consolidate their real therapeutic effect. However, to date, there is
insufficient information available to generalize the use of nanoparticles in dentistry and to allow
the development of a plan for a wide range of other applications. The toxicological aspect about
the safety of nanoparticles is a controversial issue in dentistry considering tissue properties and
potential internalization. It is clear that these aspects should be critically examined. However, the
research activity on nanotechnology in the dental field is gaining pace and several of these chal-
lenges will be solved in a short time, consolidating the transition of these products to the market.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by PAPIIT/UNAM (Ref. IN222411-3, and IN224111-3), and CONACYT (Ref.
128799). N. Mendoza-Mu˜oz acknowledges a grant from CONACYT, M
´
xico (Ref. 177414).
The authors are grateful to Mr. Rodolfo Robles for his technical assistance in obtaining the microphotogra-
phies (scanning electron microscopy) included in
Figures 23.3 and 23.8
.
References
[1] R.W. Kesall, I.W. Hamley, M. Geoghegan, Nanoscale Science and Technology, John Wiley & Sons,
New Jersey, USA. 2005.
[2] L.X. Kong, Z. Peng, S.-D. Li, P.M. Bartold, Nanotechnology and its role in the management of periodon-
tal diseases, Periodontology 40 (2006) 184
196.
[3] A. Nugent, Application of hebbian and anti-hebbian learning to nanotechnology-based physical neural net-
works, US20040162796, 2009
