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Orthodontic treatment is increasingly popular as people worldwide seek esthetics and better quality of life. In orthodontic treatment, complex appliances and retainers are placed in the patients’ mouths for at least one year, which often lead to biofilm plaque accumulation. This in turn increases the caries-inducing bacteria, decreases the pH of the retained plaque on an enamel surface, and causes white spot lesions (WSLs) in enamel. This article reviews the cutting-edge research on a new class of bioactive and therapeutic dental resins, cements, and adhesives that can inhibit biofilms and protect tooth structures. The novel approaches include the use of protein-repellent and anticaries polymeric dental cements containing 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) and dimethylaminododecyl methacrylate (DMAHDM); multifunctional resins that can inhibit enamel demineralization; protein-repellent and self-etching adhesives to greatly reduce oral biofilm growth; and novel polymethyl methacrylate resins to suppress oral biofilms and acid production. These new materials could reduce biofilm attachment, raise local biofilm pH, and facilitate the remineralization to protect the teeth. This novel class of dental resin with dual benefits of antibacterial and protein-repellent capabilities has the potential for a wide range of dental and biomedical applications to inhibit bacterial infection and protect the tissues.

Introduction: Root canal treatment (RCT) is a meticulous procedure that requires focus and precision while working in a confined space such as the root canal system of the tooth. Hence, it is a challenging practice for dental students a questionnaire-based study was conducted to evaluate senior dental students' perception toward single- and multiple-visit RCT while considering tooth type and patient cooperation, and to identify the most common reasons for multiple-visit RCT. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 267 senior year dental students from three universities and one private college in Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed between May and October 2014. The questionnaire was divided into four main sections, which evaluated student perception regarding single- and multiple-visit treatment, patient cooperation, and the nontherapeutic reasons for multiple-visits treatment. The collected data were analyzed using SAS 9.3. Results: Two hundred and seventeen questionnaires were returned (response rate, 81%). Dental students perceive multiple-visit RCT for anterior and premolar teeth as a significantly more stressful event than multiple-visit RCT for molars (P < 0.0001; Bowker's test). Tooth type and patient medical status were the highest ranked reasons for multiple-visit RCT. The majority of the responders (90%) considered single-visit RCT for single-rooted teeth a positive practice. Conclusions: Multiple-visit RCT is a stressful event for dental students, especially if the treated tooth was a single-rooted tooth. Dental students are aware of the negative effect of multiple-visit treatment on patient compliance. Clinical training should consider single-visit treatment for single rooted teeth.

Polymeric tooth-colored restorations are increasingly popular in dentistry. However, restoration failures remain a major challenge, and more than 50% of all operative work was devoted to removing and replacing the failed restorations. This is a heavy burden, with the expense for restoring dental cavities in the U.S. exceeding $46 billion annually. In addition, the need is increasing dramatically as the population ages with increasing tooth retention in seniors. Traditional materials for cavity restorations are usually bioinert and replace the decayed tooth volumes. This article reviews cutting-edge research on the synthesis and evaluation of a new generation of bioactive dental polymers that not only restore the decayed tooth structures, but also have therapeutic functions. These materials include polymeric composites and bonding agents for tooth cavity restorations that inhibit saliva-based microcosm biofilms, bioactive resins for tooth root caries treatments, polymers that can suppress periodontal pathogens, and root canal sealers that can kill endodontic biofilms. These novel compositions substantially inhibit biofilm growth, greatly reduce acid production and polysaccharide synthesis of biofilms, and reduce biofilm colony-forming units by three to four orders of magnitude. This new class of bioactive and therapeutic polymeric materials is promising to inhibit tooth decay, suppress recurrent caries, control oral biofilms and acid production, protect the periodontium, and heal endodontic infections.