ABSTRACT
Many oral diseases are considered as chronic bacterial infectious diseases, such as dental caries, periodontitis, and peri-implantitis. Antimicrobial therapies for dental caries have been used for centuries; although antibiotics are very effective in preventing caries in vivo and in vitro, their excessive use can lead to alterations of the oral and intestinal flora. Most infectious diseases in humans, including those occurring within the mouth, are caused by virulent biofilms. This chapter discusses the current advances and challenges in utilizing nanotechnology to prevent and treat dental biofilms. Although antibiofilm biomaterials are exciting new avenues in the fight against dental diseases, the implementation of new materials presents essential challenges of establishing biosafety of such new materials. One of the critical challenges in optimizing dental biomaterials is to maximize the antibiofilm activities against disease-related bacterial species, but maintain the population of beneficial microorganisms in the oral cavity.
