An updated review and recent advancements in carbon-based bioactive coatings for dental implant applications.

BACKGROUND: Surface coating of dental implants with a bioactive biomaterial is one of the distinguished approaches to improve the osseointegration potential, antibacterial properties, durability, and clinical success rate of dental implants. Carbon-based bioactive coatings, a unique class of biomaterial that possesses excellent mechanical properties, high chemical and thermal stability, osteoconductivity, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility, have been utilized successfully for this purpose. AIM: This review aims to present a comprehensive overview of the structure, properties, coating techniques, and application of the various carbon-based coatings for dental implant applicationswith a particular focuson Carbon-based nanomaterial (CNMs), which is an advanced class of biomaterials. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW: Available articles on carbon coatings for dental implants were reviewed using PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar resources. Carbon-based coatings are non-cytotoxic, highly biocompatible, chemically inert, and osteoconductive, which allows the bone cells to come into close contact with the implant surface and prevents bacterial attachment and growth. Current research and advancements are now more focused on carbon-based nanomaterial (CNMs), as this emerging class of biomaterial possesses the advantage of both nanotechnology and carbon and aligns closely with ideal coating material characteristics. Carbon nanotubes, graphene, and its derivatives have received the most attention for dental implant coating. Various coating techniques are available for carbon-based materials, chosen according to substrate type, application requirements, and desired coating thickness. Vapor deposition technique, plasma spraying, laser deposition, and thermal spraying techniques are most commonly employed to coat the carbon structures on the implant surface. Longer duration trials and monitoring are required to ascertain the role of carbon-based bioactive coating for dental implant applications.

Chitosan-based materials for dental implantology: A comprehensive review.

Chitosan, a versatile biopolymer, has gained recognition in the discipline of dental implantology due to possessing salient properties. This comprehensive review explores the potential of chitosan in dental implants, focusing on its biocompatibility, bioactivity, and the various chitosan-based materials that have been utilized for dental implant therapy. The review also highlights the importance of surface treatment in dental implants to enhance osseointegration and inhibit bacterial biofilm formation. Additionally, the chemical structure, properties, and sources of chitosan are described, along with its different structural forms. The characteristics of chitosan particularly color, molecular weight, viscosity, and degree of deacetylation are discussed about their influence on its applications. This review provides valuable insights into the promising utilization of polymeric chitosan in enhancing the success and functionality of dental implants. This study highlights the potential applications of chitosan in oral implantology. Chitosan possesses various advantageous properties, including muco-adhesiveness, hemostatic action, biocompatibility, biodegradability, bioactivity, and antibacterial and antifungal activities, which enhance its uses in dental implantology. However, it has limited aqueous solubility at the physiological pH, which sometimes restricts its biological application, but this problem can be overcome by using modified chitosan or chitosan derivatives, which have also shown encouraging results. Recent research suggests that chitosan may act as a promising material for coating titanium-based implants, improving osteointegration together with antibacterial properties.

Biomimetic Approaches in Clinical Endodontics.

In the last few decades, biomimetic concepts have been widely adopted in various biomedical fields, including clinical dentistry. Endodontics is an important sub-branch of dentistry which deals with the different conditions of pulp to prevent tooth loss. Traditionally, common procedures, namely pulp capping, root canal treatment, apexification, and apexigonesis, have been considered for the treatment of different pulp conditions using selected materials. However, clinically to regenerate dental pulp, tissue engineering has been advocated as a feasible approach. Currently, new trends are emerging in terms of regenerative endodontics which have led to the replacement of diseased and non-vital teeth into the functional and healthy dentine-pulp complex. Root- canal therapy is the standard management option when dental pulp is damaged irreversibly. This treatment modality involves soft-tissue removal and then filling that gap through the obturation technique with a synthetic material. The formation of tubular dentine and pulp-like tissue formation occurs when stem cells are transplanted into the root canal with an appropriate scaffold material. To sum up tissue engineering approach includes three components: (1) scaffold, (2) differentiation, growth, and factors, and (3) the recruitment of stem cells within the pulp or from the periapical region. The aim of this paper is to thoroughly review and discuss various pulp-regenerative approaches and materials used in regenerative endodontics which may highlight the current trends and future research prospects in this particular area.