A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is associated with humanto-human transmission. The COVID-19 was recently identified in saliva of infected patients. In this point-of-view article, we discuss the potential of transmission via the saliva of this virus. The COVID-19 transmission via contact with droplets and aerosols generated during dental clinical procedures is expected. There is a need to increase investigations to the detection of COVID-19 in oral fluids and its impact on the transmission of this virus, which is crucial to improve effective strategies for prevention, especially for dentists and healthcare professionals that perform aerosol-generating procedures. Saliva can have a pivotal role in the human-to-human transmission, and non-invasive salivary diagnostics may provide a convenient and cost-effective point-of-care platform for the fast and early detection of COVID-19 infection.

To quantify the proteome composition of the GCF in periodontal health (HH) and in sites with different clinical conditions in chronic periodontitis (CP) subjects. 5 subjects with HH and 5 with CP were submitted to full-mouth periodontal examination, and GCF sampling. Sites in the CP group were classified and sampled as periodontitis (P, probing depth, PD>4 mm), gingivitis (G, PD≤3mm with bleeding on probing, BOP), and healthy sites (H, PD≤3mm without BOP). GCF proteins were subjected to liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for identification, characterization and quantification. 230 proteins were identified; 145 proteins were detected in HH, 214 in P, 154 in G, and 133 in H. Four proteins were exclusively detected at HH, 43 proteins at P, 7 proteins at G, and 1 protein at H. Compared to HH group, 35 and 6 proteins were more abundant in P and G (p<0.001), respectively; and 4, 15 and 37 proteins were less abundant in P, G and H (p≤0.01), respectively. There are marked differences in the GCF proteome according to disease profile. Comprehension of the role of the identified proteins in the etiopathogenesis of periodontal disease may lead to biomarkers definition.

In recent years, nanoparticles (NPs) have been receiving more attention in dentistry. Their advantageous physicochemical and biological properties can improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of numerous oral diseases, including dental caries, periodontal diseases, pulp and periapical lesions, oral candidiasis, denture stomatitis, hyposalivation, and head, neck, and oral cancer. NPs can also enhance the mechanical and microbiological properties of dental prostheses and implants and can be used to improve drug delivery through the oral mucosa. This paper reviewed studies from 2015 to 2020 and summarized the potential applications of different types of NPs in the many fields of dentistry.

Understanding the composition and structure of the acquired enamel pellicle (AEP) has been a major goal in oral biology. Our lab has conducted studies on the composition of AEP formed on permanent enamel. The exhaustive exploration has provided a comprehensive identification of more than 100 proteins from AEP formed on permanent enamel. The AEP formed on deciduous enamel has not been subjected to the same biochemical characterization scrutiny as that of permanent enamel, despite the fact that deciduous enamel is structurally different from permanent enamel. We hypothesized that the AEP proteome and peptidome formed on deciduous enamel may also be composed of unique proteins, some of which may not be common with AEP of permanent enamel explored previously. Pellicle material was collected from 10 children (aged 18–54 months) and subjected to mass spectrometry analysis. A total of 76 pellicle proteins were identified from the deciduous pellicle proteome. In addition, 38 natural occurring AEP peptides were identified from 10 proteins, suggesting that primary AEP proteome/peptidome presents a unique proteome composition. This is the first study to provide a comprehensive investigation of in vivo AEP formed on deciduous enamel.