Biological dentistry is conscientious dentistry. It means paying close attention to the details – especially how the materials and techniques we use interact with the body both physically and energetically.
Never placing “silver” mercury amalgam fillings is just a small part of it.
We opt for ceramic instead of titanium implants. The composite resins we use contain no fluoride and no BPA. When we need to graft gum tissue or bone, we strive to use the patient’s own tissues rather than donor or synthetic material.
The same careful thinking applies to many other materials used every day in dentistry, including bonding agents and cements, impression materials – even the pumice used for polishing teeth. It extends to devices, too – anything that may stay in the mouth for long periods, such as clear aligners, nightguards, and sleep apnea appliances.
The goal is to choose the most biocompatible materials possible and pay attention to how they perform over time. One area where this kind of thinking is starting to show up more in dentistry as a whole is around microplastics.
No doubt you’ve seen the headlines. Tiny bits of plastic are being found…well, just about everywhere – in water, in food, and in our bodies. Plenty of questions are being asked about long-term exposure and what that might mean for health.
Dental researchers are part of that conversation too, such as the authors of a recent study on clear aligners.
Devices like Invisalign, ClearCorrect, and other orthodontic systems have become one of the most popular ways to straighten teeth and correct bite issues. We offer Spark clear aligners ourselves. They’re practically invisible. They’re removable. They’re metal-free. This makes them an especially appealing alternative to conventional brackets and wires, especially in biological dentistry, where we want to limit long-term metal exposure in the body.
The aim of this new study was to investigate whether clear aligners can release microplastic particles during normal use and how those particles might interact with the body. So the research team simulated real-world conditions. They exposed different aligner materials to mechanical wear, mimicking the kinds of forces that come from putting in and removing the aligners, along with the pressure and contact that comes with daily use.
They found that every one of the six materials they tested released detectable particles. Some produced higher concentrations of microplastics. Some tended to produce particles even smaller than micro: nano-sized plastic particles.
The team then used live-cell imaging to look at how these particles behaved in a biological setting. They saw macrophages – immune cells that do the work of clearing foreign material – interacting with the particles, readily taking up those in a certain size range.
And in some cases, they observed that exposure to these materials seemed to shift macrophage behavior toward a more pro-inflammatory state. As one of the study’s authors, Thikriat Al-Jewair, explained in a news release,
Because microplastics do not biodegrade, they can persist inside macrophages. Over time, this may trigger chronic inflammation, weaken the body’s ability to fight infection and interfere with proper wound healing.
Another author of the study, Stephen Warunek, put it more simply:
It’s not only that the macrophages ingest them and just sit there, but that the microplastics are skewing their immune responses.
At the same time, it’s important to remember that this is early research. It was done in a lab setting, not in a living organism. While it gives us a clearer picture of what can happen at the cellular level, it doesn’t yet tell us what does or could happen in a human being or what the long-term implications of that might be.
Still, the study is a good reminder of the fact that the materials we use matter – and that we need to keep paying attention. And that’s exactly how we operate at the Collective Health Society.
In fact, this is exactly the kind of issue we pay attention to when choosing materials and treatment options. Dr. Lee currently uses Spark clear aligners when needed because, based on the available research and her ongoing education in biological dentistry, they represent one of the most biocompatible aligner systems currently available.
Spark aligners contain no BPA, latex, or phthalates, and they fit well within the careful, whole-body approach we take when selecting dental materials and treatment options.
At the same time, we recognize that research around microplastics and long-term material exposure is still evolving. As new studies emerge and even better materials are developed, we’ll continue evaluating the evidence and adjusting when it makes sense to do so.
We believe patients should understand what’s going on and what their options are. That’s part of making good decisions about your health, and it’s something we hold ourselves to, as well.
We stay informed so the choices we make together reflect what matters most to you.
