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385607

An Outlook on the Significance of Biodegradable Dental Polymers to address Plastic Pollution and promote Environmental Sustainability

Article

Last updated: 28 Dec 2024

Subjects

-

Tags

Dental Material Science

Abstract

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue that affects ecosystems worldwide. It is caused by the accumulation of non-biodegradable plastics, which take hundreds of years to degrade, if at all. The dental industry is one of the major contributors to plastic pollution, as it extensively uses acrylic-based polymers such as Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to fabricate various dental appliances. Poly (methyl methacrylate) resin has a wide range of applications in the field of dentistry. Over the years it has gained popularity due to its versatility, economy, ease of use and most importantly, biocompatibility. Poly (methyl methacrylate) is the material of choice for fabrication of various dental appliances. It has been used to fabricate a wide range of dental appliances, including dentures, prostheses for craniofacial defects, orthodontic retainers, and splints. The material has been continuously evolving, and researchers have developed various methods to increase its strength and improve its properties. However, one aspect that has not been given importance to is its non-biodegradable nature. Most dental appliances, after their use, get discarded, and poly (methyl methacrylate) due to its non-biodegradability contaminates the environment for thousands of years as a plastic pollutant. Hence, we propose the development and use of biodegradable alternatives to poly (methyl methacrylate). This article throws light on this imminent issue and stresses upon the consequences of not switching to a biodegradable alternative.

DOI

10.21608/asdj.2024.292310.1295

Keywords

Poly (methyl methacrylate), Non-biodegradable, Dental materials, Sustainable dentistry

Authors

First Name

Niha

Last Name

Naveed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Orthodontics, Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital.

Email

drnihanaveed@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-8806-7282

First Name

Bhuminathan

Last Name

S

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital

Email

drbhumis@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Kannan

Last Name

MS

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Sree Balaji Dental College and Hospital

Email

drkannans@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

35

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

50595

Issue Date

2024-09-01

Receive Date

2024-05-24

Publish Date

2024-09-01

Page Start

408

Page End

413

Print ISSN

1110-7642

Online ISSN

2735-5039

Link

https://asdj.journals.ekb.eg/article_385607.html

Detail API

https://asdj.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=385607

Order

385,607

Type

Review articles/Narrative reviews

Type Code

1,641

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Ain Shams Dental Journal

Publication Link

https://asdj.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

An Outlook on the Significance of Biodegradable Dental Polymers to address Plastic Pollution and promote Environmental Sustainability

Details

Type

Article

Created At

28 Dec 2024