Influence of Antibiotics on Residual Saliva and Brushing on the Growth of Bacteria on Dental Materials

Saliva is a watery substance located in the mouths of organisms, secreted by the salivary glands. Human saliva is composed of 99.5% water, while the other 0.5% consists of electrolytes, mucus, glycoproteins, enzymes, and antibacterial compounds. An antibiotic is any substance that delays with the ability of bacteria to function normally. It may either inhibit their growth or kill the bacteria. Also, antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections ranging from life-threatening meningitis to common problems like acne and strep throat. The first antibiotic was penicillin which discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming in London, England and by the early 1940’s it was widely available. The discovery of penicillin was considered a medical miracle because it helped wipe out many of the diseases that are caused by bacteria. Dental ceramics can mimic natural teeth due to their excellent physical properties such as esthetics, biocompatibility, low thermal conductibility, and wear resistance [1,2]. Because of these features, dental ceramics have been extensively used in several rehabilitation procedures, including inlays, onlays, crowns and porcelain veneers [3]. ZrO2 has gained attention as a biomaterial due to superior mechanical properties, compared to alumina (Al2O3), and chemical and biological inertness that makes it very biocompatible [4]. Exploration into ZrO2 as a biomaterial began in 1960’s [5], with most of the work over the years focused on the use of ZrO2 in orthopedics, specifically in femoral heads for total hip replacements [6]. Dental porcelain is dimensionally stable after firing, insoluble in oral fluids, has an excellent color matching, tissue tolerance, and high wear resistance [7]. Kaolin, quartz, and feldspar are fired at high temperature to achieve desirable properties [8]. The compressive strength of dental porcelain is high, its tensile strength is very low, which is typical of a brittle solid that may fracture when flexed or when quickly heated and cooled [9]. The fusion temperature, strength and chemical inertness depend on the amount of alkali (or non-bridging oxygen) present in the glass [10]. Wear and frictional behavior of dental feldspathic porcelain was investigated in air and in water with a single-pass sliding technique [11]. Friction of the as-glazed porcelain was higher in water and surface damage was more extensive than in air. Gold-coating reduced the friction but had no apparent effect on the mode of surface failure in these environments. The aim of this work was to study the effect of antibiotics on natural residual saliva and study the effect of brushing on organism formed on the surface of some dental materials.