**5. Conclusions**

A SiC coating on ceramic demonstrated enhanced bactericidal ability without inducing cytotoxic effects. The SiC coating presented bactericidal activity against *S. mutans* and *S. sanguinis* after 24 h of culture. In addition, the coating did not induce cytotoxic effects on periodontal ligament fibroblasts. These results indicate that a SiC coating can be used as a tool to prevent bacterial adhesion and improve the clinical performance of ceramic restorations. Further studies will include in vivo validation of coating performance.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, F.R., J.F.E.-U., and A.E.C.; methodology, S.E.A.C., F.R., and J.F.E.-U.; investigation: S.E.A.C., A.S.M., C.F., and J.L.P.; data curation: S.E.A.C., S.-M.H., F.R., A.E.C., and J.F.E.-U.; writing—original draft preparation, S.E.A.C.; writing—review and editing, S.E.A.C., F.R., P.H.C.IV, and J.F.E.-U. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health-NIDCR (grant number R01 DE025001).

**Acknowledgments:** Ceramic materials were supplied by Ivoclar Vivadent. Dektak was performed at the Nanoparticle Research Facility at the University of Florida.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors report no conflicts of interest related to this study.

**Ethical Statements:** The human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (HPdLF) cell line was obtained from Lonza Bioscience (catalog #: CC-7049, Basel, Switzerland).
