Bella Salsa, Mona Sari, Yusril Yusuf
Dental caries is a disease often encountered, and efforts are made to prevent it through remineralization. This study aims to fabricate a biocomposite gel hydroxyapatite (HA) and miswak (Salvadora persica) as a dental enamel remineralization agent. Synthesis of HA based on pearl shell (Pinctada maxima) as a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) using the precipitation method. Fabrication of gel biocomposites with varying HA concentrations of 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%. The fabricated gel composites were tested for physicochemical properties using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and X-ray Diffractometer (XRD). HA-miswak gel has a particle size almost uniform on the nanometer scale and has small agglomeration. The morphology of the HA-miswak gel showed a size distribution of HA particles with a size of ∼300 nm. The XRD results showed that the crystallite sizes of the HA-miwak gel were (46 ± 1), (40 ± 1), (43 ± 1), and (39 ± 1) nm, respectively. Nano-HA is significantly effective for remineralization. Based on antibacterial tests, HA-miswak gel can prevent the growth of Streptococcus mutans bacteria with an inhibitory zone diameter of 15.9 ± 0.2 mm. Based on these results, HA-miswak gel has potential as a tooth enamel remineralization agent. © 2026 Author(s).
Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
