Dental materials are preventive, restorative, and therapeutic materials and are classified as such. The hunt for the perfect material, designed to stop disease, treat unwellness, or restore tooth structures, continues to elude the profession. The right material would be biocompatible, bond indefinitely to the tooth structures, be esthetic with the tooth/tissue structures, and repair or regenerate missing tissues.
All of this might appear an unattainable task given the ever changing availbility of materials on the market, recommendations for it’s use or misuse, and quickly developing techniques in manipulation, placement, and care. Professional journals, dental material producers, and manufacturers’ representatives, web links, and alternative resources are all helpful sources of information about the evolving state of dental materials.