A clinical guide to applied dental materials 1st edn.

Written by a practising Dental Clinician and a Professor of Biomaterials, this very complete book has a comprehensive and evidence-based approach that gathers a broad range of expertise from all fields of Dentistry.

As a dental materials book not only does it cover the expected amalgams, resin-based materials, alloys, ceramics and impression materials, but also materials used in endodontics, temporization, prevention and periodontics, implants, bleaching and also cutting instruments.

It is divided into 5 sections: Section 1 begins with the ‘General Principles’ of dental materials and gives an insight into the oral environment where the various dental materials function, including biological effects and safety aspects. Also covered are the presentations of dental materials, the variability in terms of the performance in relation to the manipulation by different clinical staff of said dental materials and the role of the manufacturer in changing its presentation in order to minimize such operator variability.

Section 2 addresses ‘Direct Restorative Materials’, starting with a comprehensive review on the polemic, but also dental amalgam and its properties, advantages and disadvantages and the health and safety aspects of using dental amalgam. Other dental alloys are also discussed. Most of section 2 explores ‘Tooth-coloured Restorative Materials’, with a first part on ‘Resin Composites’, how their constituents influence its handling and its properties. All clinical applications, indications, contra-indications, limitations and how to achieve the best results is mentioned. The naming of some of the current available commercial products completes this first part.