The 2017 Global Disease Study revealed 2.3 billion untreated cavities and 139 million other oral conditions like dental erosion. Modern treatments prioritise controlling etiological factors and preventing related diseases. This Editorial invites researchers to contribute to the collection, \'Prevention and management of dental erosion and decay\'.

Deep tooth decay approaching the pulp may develop into pulpitis; to prevent this, pulp cells need to balance the rapid immune response to avoid rapid swelling of the pulp. Current treatment of deep decay that approaches the pulp involves the application of drugs that induce low-level inflammation in the dental pulp to promote its repair, but this treatment is sometimes insufficient. However, the unsuccessful treatment often resulted in pulpitis. The C5a-C5aR is the initial stage of the immune cascade response. Blocking the binding of C5a-C5aR can slow the immune response in the narrow pulp cavity, so that dental pulp cells have enough time to proliferate, migrate, and differentiate. In this study, we compared lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) at different concentrations and time points and used the C5aR antagonist W54011 to block the C5a-C5aR axis. The blocking effect was detected by analyzing the expression of C5a, C5aR, interleukin (IL)-6, and Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 (TLR-2, 4). Next, we determined the optimal concentration and duration of LTA and LPS treatment in combination with W54011. Based on our results, we selected 1.0 μg·mL-1 LPS treatment for 48 h to generate an inflammatory model of human dental pulp cells. We then regrouped the cells and conducted expression analyses to monitor the expression of C5a, C5aR, IL-6, and TLR-4 at the protein and mRNA levels. LPS stimulation for 48 h and treatment with W54011 for 48 h effectively inhibited inflammation and did not affect C5a expression. This study provides a basis for follow-up studies of W54011 in dental pulp cells.

Aqueous extracts of two red seaweeds Halymenia porphyriformis and Solieria robusta were used to synthesize green silver nanoparticles. These biogenic nanoparticles were tested against four strains of oral pathogenic bacteria which cause tooth decay or cavities. Staphylococcus aureus (MT416445), Streptococcus viridans (MT416448), Lactobacillus acidophilus (MT416447) and Lactobacillus brevis (MT416446) were used. Characterization of AgNPs was done by UV-Visible spectroscopy, SEM, XRD and FTIR. XRD analysis revealed the crystalline nature of the particles. The size analysis by XRD of the green AgNPs by H. porphyriformis indicated it had smaller particles, 15.23 nm, when compared to AgNPs by S. robusta (17 nm). Both green synthesized silver nanoparticles showed moderate antibacterial activity against all strains of bacteria, except L. acidophilus. Both particles showed their maximum zone of inhibition against L. acidophilus at a lower concentration of 50 and 100 μg. However, it was concluded that silver nanoparticles of H. porphyriformis are more effective than that of S. robusta due to their smaller size.

In this study, we aimed to improve the properties of conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC), including mechanical properties, wear resistance, antibacterial properties and biological activity, by adding fluorinated graphene (FG). Composites of synthesised FG and GIC were examined after being combined at different mass proportions (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 wt%). The microstructure and morphology of FG prepared via the hydrothermal method was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The FG/GIC composite was obtained through the blending method and characterised using SEM. Then, the Vickers microhardness and the wear property of the FG/GIC composite-imitated brushing was measured. The plate count and dilution methods (10-fold) were adopted to investigate the antibacterial properties of FG/GIC by incubating Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The biocompatibility of FG/GIC containing the adhesion and cytotoxicity of mouse fibroblast cells (L929) was estimated by the MTT and acridine orange (AO) fluorescent staining. Our results demonstrated that the hardness and abrasive wear resistance of the composites increased, and the microhardness parameter changes exhibited a gradual increase as the concentration continued to increase. A 2.0 wt% FG concentration could effectively improve the bacterial inhibition performance of GIC and was directly proportional to the concentration of FG. The composite materials showed no apparent cytotoxicity on normal L929 cells compared to the control group, and the materials exhibited no cytotoxic effect compared to traditional GIC. Thus, FG/GIC has potential therapeutic value in the field of dental treatment.

While studies have shown that poor oral health status may increase the risk of cancer, evidence of a specific association with the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) is inconclusive. We evaluated the association between oral health and CRC risk using data from three large cohorts: the Shanghai Men\'s Health Study (SMHS), the Shanghai Women\'s Health Study (SWHS), and the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), and carried out a meta-analysis of results from other relevant published studies.
This study applied a nested case-control study design and included 825 cases/3298 controls from the SMHS/SWHS and 238 cases/2258 controls from the SCCS. The association between oral health status (i.e. tooth loss/tooth decay) and CRC risk was assessed using conditional logistic regression models. A meta-analysis was carried out based on results from the present study and three published studies.
We found that tooth loss was not associated with increased risk of CRC. ORs and respective 95% CIs associated with loss of 1-5, 6-10, and >10 teeth compared with those with full teeth are 0.87 (0.69-1.10), 0.93 (0.70-1.24), and 0.85 (0.66-1.11) among SMHS/SWHS participants; and 1.13 (0.72-1.79), 0.87 (0.52-1.43), and 1.00 (0.63-1.58) for those with loss of 1-4, 5-10, and >10 teeth among SCCS participants. Data regarding tooth decay were available in the SCCS, but were not associated with CRC risk. Meta-analysis confirmed the null association between tooth loss/periodontal disease and CRC risk (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.86-1.29).
In this analysis of three cohorts and a meta-analysis, we found no evidence supporting an association between oral health and CRC risk.