NANOTECHNOLOGY IN DENTISTRY

Nanotechnology in dentistrycan be defined as the science and engineering involved in the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of materials and devices whose smallest functional organization in at least one dimension is on the nanometer scale or one billionth of a meter.

For a layman it is a kind of technology that deals with particle measured in nanometers. The term “Nano” is derived from nan, the Greek word for dwarf.

The speed at which advances are being made in science has catapulted nanotechnology in dentistry from its theoretical foundations straight into the real world. Healthcare, along with society as a whole, is facing a major revolution in the wake of ongoing technological developments in the field of nanotechnology.

Dentistry as an individual healthcare discipline is not exempt, having already been targeted directly with novel ‘nano-materials’ at the same time as indirectly enjoying the benefits of nano-related advances in the electronics industry through the ongoing computerization of the modern practice.

Growing interest in the future medical applications of nanotechnology in dentistry is leading to the emergence of a new field called nanomedicine — the science and technology of diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease and injury, of relieving pain, and of preserving and improving human health, using nanoscale-structured materials, biotechnology and genetic engineering, and eventually complex molecular machine systems and nanorobots.

Similarly, development of “nanotechnology in dentistry” will make possible the maintenance of near-perfect oral health through the use of nanomaterials, biotechnology including tissue engineering, and nanorobotics.

Application of nanotechnology in dentistry are especially promising, and area such as disease diagnosis, drug delivery targeted at specific sites in the body and molecule imaging are being intensively investigated and some products are undergoing clinical trials.

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