From Nano to Smile: Applications, Innovations, and the Future of Nanotechnology in Dentistry—A Scoping Review

Background/Objectives: Nanotechnology has become a transformative area in modern dentistry, providing new opportunities for better diagnosis, targeted drug delivery, improved restorative materials, antimicrobial treatments, and tissue regeneration. This scoping review outlines the scope, key developments, and future directions of nanotechnology use across all dental specialties, highlights emerging innovations, and identifies major translational challenges and research priorities. Methods: This review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and adhered to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. These guidelines, originally by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and later updated by Levac et al. (2010) and Peters et al. (2020, 2021), guided the process. The Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework guided the eligibility criteria. Included studies were primary research or reviews reporting nanotechnology applications in any dental specialty, published in English, with no date restriction. Excluded were non-peer-reviewed sources, conference abstracts without full text, studies unrelated to dental applications, and non-English publications. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science. After screening titles and abstracts and reviewing full texts, 133 studies were included. Results: The included studies covered a wide range of fields such as restorative dentistry, implantology, periodontology, endodontics, drug delivery, tissue regeneration, oral diagnostics, antimicrobial applications, prosthodontics, orthodontics, and emerging technologies like nanorobotics and graphene-based systems. The most commonly reported nanomaterials were silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), calcium phosphate nanoparticles (CaP NPs), and polymeric nanoparticles such as PLGA and chitosan. Additionally, there was a notable increase in publications starting from 2019. Conclusions: Nanotechnology offers transformative possibilities in every area of dentistry. Nonetheless, challenges such as nanotoxicology safety, regulatory alignment, and effective clinical application need resolution. Essential steps include standardized characterization, gathering long-term safety data, and establishing international regulatory standards to ensure safe adoption of nano dentistry.