Applied Biophysics of the Tooth and Dental Materials

Currently, interdisciplinary research stands at the forefront of scientific and technological advancement in dental medicine. Among known interdisciplinary approaches, the use of applied biophysics has paved the way towards understanding some of the key problems in dental medicine including the mechanisms behind oral biofilm-mediated diseases, the development and optimization of novel bio-active materials, and how aging impacts dental and oral tissues. Towards the future, the trend of exploring dentistry-related issues through a biophysical lens is expected to continue to unravel key questions regarding the complexity of oral tissues, microbiomes, and restorative materials and procedures.

The goal of this Research Topic is to showcase the latest research in dental medicine that employs biophysics-based methods and approaches to answer pressing questions about the biology, physiopathology, and clinical behavior of relevant oral tissues and materials. Furthermore, it seeks to push the visibility of the broad range of biophysics-dentistry collaborations currently taking place across the globe and promote the engagement between researchers from basic sciences and dental researchers and clinicians.

We invite researchers working across all fields associated to tooth and dental materials biophysics and nanometrology to contribute original articles and reviews (systematic or narrative) to this Research Topic. The scope for this collection includes, but is not limited to:
- Advanced microscopy (including atomic force microscopy and super-resolution microscopy)
- Adhesion and material interactions (including cell-surface, cell-cell, bacterial, and biomaterial adhesion)
- Biophysics and mechanical testing of dental materials and interfaces
- Aging effects on choice and effectiveness of dental biomaterials
- Molecular and cell biophysics
- Mechanobiology of oral tissues, cells, and biofilms
- Biology of tooth-material interphases
- Innovation in pre-clinical dentistry – materials and interfaces

Overall, articles should emphasize the novelty of experimental and analytical methods, as well as highlight how the use of biophysics has further advanced the understanding of the dentistry-associated problem being studied. Finally, submissions involving exploratory and/or proof-of-concept research, as well as novel applications of biophysical techniques to answer dental medicine-related questions, are highly encouraged.

Keywords: Biophysics, translational research, dental research, molecular biology, microscopy & imaging, mechanobiology, biofilms, nanomedicine, biomaterials and interfaces, modelling

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.