Smart injectable hydrogels for periodontal regeneration: Recent advancements in biomaterials and biofabrication strategies

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Periodontitis is a globally prevalent chronic inflammatory disease that leads to periodontal pocket formation and eventually destroys tooth-supporting structures. Hence, the drastic increase in dental implants for periodontitis has become a severe clinical issue. Injectable hydrogel based on extracellular matrix (ECM) is highly biocompatible and tissue-regenerative with tailor-made mechanical properties and high payload capacity for in situ delivery of bioactive molecules to treat periodontitis. This therapeutic tool not only enhances the drug release efficiency and treatment efficacy but also reduces operation time. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to optimize the mechanical properties and intelligent control drug release rate of injectable hydrogels to achieve the highest therapeutic outcome. Literature precedent has shown the modulation of polymer backbones (synthetic polymers, natural polysaccharides, and proteins), crosslinking strategies, other bioactive constituents, and potentially the incorporation of nanomaterials that overall improve the desirable physiochemical and biological performances as well as biodegradability. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the development, design, and material characterizations of common injectable hydrogels. Furthermore, we highlight cutting-edge representative examples of polysaccharide-, protein- and nanocomposite

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

Browse all related research

Filter the research library by this study's title keywords, author, or publication year.