Anti-biofilm activity of a novel pit and fissure self-adhesive sealant modified with metallic monomers

Abstract

Dental plaque is a biofilm composed of a complex oral microbial community. The accumulation of plaque in the pit and fissures of dental elements often leads to the development of tooth decay (dental caries). Here, potent anti-biofilm materials were developed by incorporating zinc methacrylates or di-n-butyl-dimethacrylate-tin into the light-curable sealant and their physical, mechanical, and biological properties were evaluated. The data revealed that 5% di-n-butyl-dimethacrylate-tin (SnM 5%) incorporated sealant showed strong anti-biofilm efficacy against various single-species (Streptococcus mutans or Streptococcus oralis or Candida albicans) and S. mutans-C. albicans cross-kingdom dual-species biofilms without either impairing the mechanical properties of the sealant or causing cytotoxicities against mouse fibroblasts. The findings indicate that the incorporation of SnM 5% in the experimental pit and fissure self-adhesive sealant may have the potential to be part of current chemotherapeutic strategies to prevent the formation of cariogenic oral biofilms that cause dental caries.

Keywords:

• Pit and fissure sealants
• metallic monomer
• antibiofilm
• Streptococcus mutans
• Candida albicans

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Hyun (Michel) Koo for suggestions and discussion.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by the National Institutes for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) grant (DE027970 (GH)). The authors would like to thank CAPES (Higher Education Personnel Improvement Coordination) for granting a scholarship to the first author. Also, the authors thank the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) grants (310879/2015-9 and 309848/2017-2), and the study and project funding agency (FINEP), grant (01.10.0709.05) for financial support.