Methods for biomimetic remineralization of human dentin: a critical review

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to review the methods of the studies which successfully achieved biomimetic remineralization of human dentin. METHODS: A systematic search of the publications in the PubMed and ISI Web of Science databases was performed by using combinations of the following keywords: ((biomimetic AND (mineralization OR mineralisation OR regeneration OR remineralization OR remineralisation)) OR biomineralization OR biomineralisation) AND (dentin OR dentine). Titles and abstracts of initially identified publications were screened. Clinical trials, reviews, non-English articles, resin-dentin interface studies, hybrid layer studies, hybrid scaffolds studies, and irrelevant studies were excluded. The remaining papers were retrieved with full texts. Manual screening was conducted on the bibliographies of remaining papers to identify relevant articles. RESULTS: A total of 615 studies were found and 590 were excluded after initial screening. One article was identified from the bibliographies of the remaining 25 papers. After retrieving the full-text, 22 were included in this systematic review. Eleven studies used analogs to mimic the functions of non-collagenous proteins in biomineralization of dentin. Five studies used phosphorylation of type I collagen to mimic the functions of matrix phosphoproteins; and four studies used bioactive materials which could release mineral ions to induce apatite formation on demineralized dentin surface. A study used zinc, a bioactive element, and another study constructed an agarose hydrogel system for biomimetic mineralization of dentin. CONCLUSIONS: Many studies reported success in biomimetic mineralization of dentin with different methods, including the use of non-collagenous proteins analogs and binding biomimetic molecule to type I collagen.