Application of nanoparticles in oral hygiene

Abstract

Many of more than 700 bacterial species inhabiting the oral cavity are opportunistic pathogens causing systemic infections in addition to dental and periodontal diseases. This renders oral hygiene a much serious issue, which is further exacerbated with the emergence of multiple antibiotic resistance in oral bacteria. The role of nanoparticles based materials especially metal and metal oxide nanoparticles as an effective and alternative/supplementary antimicrobial agent is now well established. These nanoparticles could be a healthier, innocuous and effective alternative for controlling both the dental biofilms and oral planktonic bacterial population with lesser side effects or antibiotic resistance. Antimicrobial activity of these nanoparticles against a number of oral pathogens has already been demonstrated. When added to artificial dental materials and implants these nanoparticles improve the desirable physico-chemical properties of the materials in addition to improving their antimicrobial activity. Besides a few studies, biochemical processes underlying the antimicrobial activity of the nanoparticles against both planktonic cells and oral biofilms is not understood. Through our literature survey it is envisaged that ZnO nanoparticles and TiO2 nanoparticles are the most suitable nanoantibiotic for the development of dental pastes, mouthwashes, and other oral hygiene materials. However in vivo studies on nanotoxicity of these nanoparticles are missing and need a careful and balanced evaluation before successful clinical translations.