Dental biomaterials, such as methacrylate-based resin composites and dental implants, face a significant challenge after placement: surviving in the complex host environment of the oral cavity composed of saliva, epithelial cells, the innate immune system, and a plethora of microbial cells organized within the dental biofilm. This environment challenges the integrity of dental biomaterials, leading to a higher than desirable failure rate and shortened service life. Progress in dental materials research towards enhanced service life can be achieved by appropriate modeling of the biomaterial-biofilm interface that includes relevant oral microbes and biofilm growth conditions. However, standards for testing the influence of dental biofilms on biomaterials and vice versa are currently missing, thus hindering advancement in materials development.

The symposium will address the eminent need for a consensus for adequate models and set forward the discussion on how to develop methods to test biomaterial-biofilm interactions. Current problems will be identified and addressed from the microbial and dental materials side, combining the expertise of both fields with the goal to set experimental standards for biomaterial-biofilm interface research.