The Impact of Biomaterials on Oral Health: Relationships with Oral Pathologies and Roles in Dental Medicine

Oral health is a doorway to general well-being. Due to being linked to the overall health in a bi-directional way, and sharing common causal pathways, treating oral pathologies is equally important as preventing them. Essential functions such as eating, breathing, speaking, smiling, smelling, tasting, touching, and being able to communicate a variety of emotions through facial expressions with confidence and without suffering from pain or discomfort, are directly dependent on the health and integrity of the teeth and orofacial structures. Good oral health also encompasses psycho-social dimensions, such as self-confidence, and the ability to work and socialize without any embarrassment, thus supporting individuals in achieving their highest potential. Oral health issues vary from early life to childhood, adulthood and golden age, thus a holistic approach of the individual as a unique whole is recommended. The role of dental biomaterials in supporting a healthy oral cavity results from their role to replace damaged or lost tooth structure, teeth, jaw bones, soft tissue, by means of fillings, prosthodontics, implants and tissue engineering constructs, and include diverse metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. Biomaterials are intended to interact with the oral environment as a preventive or therapeutic tool, by treating, repairing, replacing, or augmenting the oral tissues and their function. Biomaterials must be biocompatible, this being an important issue, in relationship with their behavior in the oral environment, under its permanent changing conditions. Dental biomaterials are partly visible and hence matching the color of the surrounding tissue is of utmost importance. Their macrostructure and microstructure and their entire range of properties are supposed to match their targeted application. Prosthodontic and tissue engineering constructs are often made of several heterogeneous materials, so the complex interaction between the parts which compose the whole is to be considered. New smart materials and modern technologies, such as 3D/4D printing/bioprinting, represent the current state-of-the-art and the future perspective in the field, enabling the achievement of a top quality therapeutic outcome.

Through this Research Topic, we aim to provide a holistic approach of the interaction between dental biomaterials and oral health, the impact of oral health on general wellbeing, by focusing on the individual as a unique whole. We invite authors to submit papers related to the entire spectrum of biomaterials used in dentistry, dental implantology, and dental tissue engineering, focusing on their specific properties, their interaction with the oral environment, their impact on oral health, their relationship with oral pathologies, and new manufacturing technologies.

We welcome submissions on a large range of topics related to dental biomaterials and oral health, including, but not limited to:
- prosthodontics
- implants
- tissue engineering
- CAD/CAM milling
- 3D/4D printing/bioprinting
- oral medicine
- oral pathology
- ceramics
- polymers
- high-performance polymers
- dental alloys

The following article types: research articles, review articles, case reports, mini reviews, communications are equally welcome.

Keywords: Biomaterials, Oral Health, Oral Medicine, Biocompatibility, Prosthodontics, Tissue Engineering, Implantology, Ceramics, Polymers, High-Performance Polymers, Dental Alloys, Smart Materials, 3D printing, 4D printing, CAD/CAM

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.