What are Dental Materials?

The main goal in dentistry is to maintain or restore the function of oral tissues, or to improve the quality of life by replacing lost tissues in the oral cavity. So, Dental materials are developed to keep tissues in the oral cavity in good condition and restore their functions.

It is believed that ancient inhabitants of Egypt were skillful in using materials in dentistry 500 years ago, this is the first dental bridge found in history. Egyptian dentists accomplished tooth replacement by threading thin gold wires around and through a replacement tooth, and then attaching the wires to nearby teeth in the mouth. Another example is that the stone implant was first prepared and placed in the mandible in the early Honduran culture around 800 A.D., which is 1200 years ago.

It is important to know the properties of the comparative value such as mechanical properties, biologically compatible or chemical properties in different restorative materials; it is also essential to know the quality of the supporting and investing hard and soft tissue. The ideal dental material would be identical to natural tooth structure in strength, adherence, and appearance. They also need to match the properties of lost teeth or tissues and are capable of initiating tissue repair to invite the restoration of the lost tooth or oral tissues.