Dental caries, as the predominant global oral disease, remains a critical public health issue worldwide, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. However, common caries prevention approaches (e.g., oral health education, mechanical plaque removal, and delivery of fluoride agents) are still insufficient for optimal caries management, and therefore, alternative regimens that can supplement existing strategies are highly warranted. Nanomaterials exhibit considerable potential in combating cariogenic pathogens and biofilms owing to their promising antimicrobial capacity, improved penetration into biofilms, targeted precision delivery, and versatile physicochemical properties. As unifunctional materials are limited in caries management, this review underscores the latest advancement in multifunctional anti-caries nanomaterials/nanomedicines. It highlights the cutting-edge materials developed or engineered to (i) incorporate diagnostic capabilities to prevent caries at an early stage, thus enhancing treatment efficiency, (ii) integrate mechanical “brushing” with anti-caries approaches to mechanochemically eradicate biofilms, (iii) exert antimicrobial/antibiofilm effects while preserving dental hard tissue. The current work also outlines future directions for optimizing nanosystems in the management of dental caries while emphasizing the need for innovative solutions to improve preventive and therapeutic efficacies.

中文翻译：

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基于纳米材料的协同策略对抗龋齿：进展和前景


龋齿作为全球主要的口腔疾病，仍然是世界范围内的关键公共卫生问题，尤其是在社会经济弱势社区。常见的龋齿预防方法（例如，口腔健康教育、机械牙菌斑去除和氟化物给药）仍然不足以实现最佳龋齿管理，因此非常需要能够补充现有应对策略的替代方案。纳米材料在对抗致龋病原体和生物膜方面表现出相当大的潜力，因为它们具有很有前途的抗菌能力、改进的生物膜渗透性、有针对性的精确递送和多种物理化学特性。由于单功能材料在龋齿管理中受到限制，本文强调了多功能抗龋齿纳米材料/纳米药物的最新进展。它重点介绍了开发或工程的尖端材料，这些材料旨在 i） 将机械“刷牙”与抗龋齿方法相结合，以机械化学方式根除生物膜，ii） 在保护牙齿硬组织的同时发挥抗菌/抗生物膜作用，以及 iii） 结合诊断能力，在早期预防龋齿，从而提高治疗效率。目前的工作还概述了优化纳米系统治疗龋齿的未来方向，但强调需要创新解决方案来提高预防和治疗效果。