MODERN DENTAL RESTORATIVE MATERIALS
The main goal of dentistry is to maintain or improve the quality of life of dental patients. This goal can be achieved by preventing disease, improving the efficiency of mastication, enhancing speech, and improving appearance. As many of these aims require replacement or alteration of tooth structure, the main challenges have been the development and selection of biocompatible, long-lasting restorative materials that can withstand conditions of the oral environment.
Although many technological advances have been proposed to improve the quality of dental materials, a challenge remains for clinicians to critically evaluate data about dental materials' properties claimed in advertisements and to relate these claims carefully to well-established physical principles for the specific classes of materials.
Nowadays dentistry is an incredibly wide area that includes many specialties that require various materials. Dental materials are used to prevent dental diseases, to restore or to help in restoring diseased/traumatized/lost teeth and/ or neighboring tissues and rehabilitate oral health. Generally the following groups of dental materials may be outlined.
► Preventive dental materials include cements, varnish or restorative material that either seals pits and fissures or releases a therapeutic agent such as fluoride and/or mineralizing ions to prevent or arrest the demineral-ization of tooth structure.
► Dental restorative materials are metallic, ceramic, metal-ceramic, or resin-based substances used to replace, repair, or rebuild tooth structure and/or to enhance esthetics; these are divided into the following groups. • Direct restorative materials are used to restore tooth structure directly