Effect of the main materials used in dental practice against the formation of bacterial dental plaque

Introduction: bacterial dental plaque and biofilms are formed in hard and soft dental tissue alike. They are the main cause of dental caries and periodontal disease in the patients affected. Objective: identify the effect of the materials most commonly used in dental practice against the formation of bacterial dental plaque. Methods: a bibliographic review was conducted about the antibiofilm properties of the main materials used in dental practice. The inclusion criteria were the following: inhibitory properties, formation and/or development of bacterial dental plaque on the surface of dental cements used in endodontics, commonly used dental cements such as zinc oxide, polycarboxylate and glass ionomer, permanent restoration materials such as composite resins and silver amalgam. Data were obtained from the search engines and platforms SciELO, HINARI and MEDLINE. A review was conducted of 21 high impact journals dealing with the topic. About 899 papers were obtained, of which only 39 were included in the study. 52.6 % of the papers had been published in the last five years. Integration of results: a description is provided of the effect of several dental cements, materials used in endodontics and permanent restoration materials against the formation of bacterial dental plaque. Conclusions: according to the bibliographic review conducted, the materials that most commonly enable the formation of bacterial dental plaque are composite resins, followed by silver amalgam. Cements used in endodontic treatment were found to have antifilm properties, whereas cements with zinc compounds, high pH and fluoride releasing capacity exhibited optimal inhibitory and antifilm properties.