Nanotechnology: A Boon to Dentistry

Dentistry is frequently facing revolutions in order to provide a most reliable and comfortable therapeutic option for the patients. Recently, nanotechnology has emerged as a new science exploi­ ting specific phenomena and direct manipulation of materials on nanoscale. Nanorobotics is the technology of creating machines or robots at or close to the microscopic scale of a nanometer (10–9 m). Nanotechnology, being an inter disciplinary field, has three main extensively overlapping areas, nanoelectronics, nanomaterials, and nanobiotechnology, and these have ap­ plications in healthcare. Nanotechnology has diverse applica­ tions in the field of dendritic polymers, including sophisticated visualization of dental structures, improvement in the physical properties of materials, mimicking the natural processes in tooth development, and in the use of specialized nanomachines called nanorobots to execute regular dental measures. Different pos­ sible approaches of nanotechnology in dentistry might include the application of nanotechnology to local anesthesia, dentition renaturalization, the permanent cure for hypersensitivity, com­ plete orthodontic realignment in a single visit, and continuous oral health maintenance using mechanical dentifrobots. The present article aims to provide an early glimpse on the impact and future implication of nanorobotics and highlights the role of nanomaterials and their potential to be used in the diagnosis and management of oral diseases in dentistry.