New trends, challenges, and opportunities in the use of nanotechnology in restorative dentistry

Abstract

Durability of dental restorations are very important for public health because it delays or eliminate, future dental treatments. It is hard to organize the area of dental health, since the best part of research is oriented towards the concept of restoration in a very broad sense. The restorative dentistry in the XXIst Century is changing every day. As times passes by, the chemistry and investigation of new products, are changing the way dentists can approach different situations. The introduction of microfill restoratives in the early 1970s ushered in the era of dental nanotechnology, since then, many improvements ended up with better and better restorative materials. This fact, combined with new adhesion materials, has ended with the great option of what we consider the goal of present and future dental restorative treatments: "The minimally invasive odontology". Other recent applications of nanotechnology in dentistry have focused on the delivery of molecules that promote hard tissue remineralization by noninvasive techniques. In this context, the most promising technology for the nanorestoration of tooth structure is biomimetics, the study and use of processes that mimic those that occur in nature, particularly those that involve self-assembly of components to form, replace, or repair oral tissues.Odontology based on adding material without any removal and preservation of the tooth structures seen to be mandatory. Only by improving materials properties and adhesion, this objective could be achieved.