Article
A good working knowledge of dental materials by each member of the dental team is critical because the effective practice of restorative dentistry is impossible without it. As such, it has been said that dental materials science may be considered as ‘the foundation upon which restorative dentistry is built.’1 Unfortunately, many undergraduate dental students became quickly turned off the subject due to the way in which it was traditionally taught, possibly because its emphasis was not clinically driven. Furthermore, after qualification, many members of the dental team find it difficult to keep abreast of change driven by market forces and the appearance of new products. It is therefore timely and appropriate that a special edition of Dental Update should be dedicated to dental materials and, even more importantly, how they may be correctly prescribed and handled clinically. I would like to thank my colleagues on the Dental Update Editorial Board for their support and acquiescence when I suggested that there was a need for such an edition.
I have great pleasure therefore in presenting this special issue whose principal aim is to provide an evidence-based update in dental materials available in contemporary clinical practice. All of the authors were hand-picked for their expertise in the subjects identified as topical and worthy of inclusion. I would very much like to extend a huge thank you on behalf of the readership of Dental Update to all the contributors for their obvious hard work in writing their papers.
Opening the batting is keen cricketer, Dr Louis Mackenzie, one of the most published GDPs in the UK, clinical lecturer and now Head Dental Officer at Denplan. Louis looks back at the use of dental amalgam, a much loved and extensively used material whose use has declined in recent years owing to increasing patient and professional demand for tooth-coloured restorations and the use of techniques which rightfully promote the conservation of dental hard tissue. He also recognizes that dental amalgam is no longer taught at many dental schools and offers practical advice on the clinical usage of the material in an attempt to fill the knowledge gap of those colleagues who have need of these skills.
Louis is joined at the crease by Prof Trevor Burke, Editorial Director of Dental Update who needs no introduction. The second paper in this edition is co-authored by these two gentlemen and is an update to follow on (pun intended!) from a well-received publication in the April 2017 issue of Dental Update on bonding to dentine using universal adhesives. The present paper provides an invaluable guide on how these materials should be used in what is an extremely common clinical procedure, so enabling clinicians to attach tooth-coloured restorative materials to dental hard tissue predictably, practise minimally invasive dentistry and reduce microleakage.
Light curing is another very commonly carried out clinical procedure in restorative dentistry, but one which is frequently performed suboptimally. It was my great pleasure to collaborate with friend and colleague, Will Palin, Professor of Biomedical Materials Science at the University of Birmingham to write this paper. It sets out to explain the physics and chemistry behind photopolymerization to contextualize the clinical application of the technique, and offers advice on how clinicians may effect the set of light-cured materials more predictably, a topic which is often overlooked, but critical to clinical success.
Cements are covered in the middle order with another subject long overdue for coverage, that being the glass polyalkenoate (ionomer) cements. Dr Petros Mylonas at Cardiff University and Dr Jing Zhang, supervised by Dental Update editorial board member, Prof Avi Banerjee, have produced a paper, which it is hoped will serve its intention of updating in the latest thinking in these group of materials much loved by materials scientists and clinicians alike.
Another family of cements that are being used increasing is the hydraulic cements. There is mounting evidence to support their use in many applications in endodontics, but it can be difficult for the clinician to understand the variations between products and so how they may be used. We are very lucky to have two contributions from Dr Josette Camilleri of the University of Birmingham and a world authority on these materials, who has devised a classification system that will be invaluable to practising clinicians. It was a pleasure and privilege for me to write these papers with Dr Camilleri.
The use of technology (and specifically digital technologies) is becoming increasingly commonplace in the contemporary practice of restorative dentistry, offering many benefits and huge potential. It is therefore only right and proper that a number of articles are included to inform readers of the progress being made in this field. To continue the cricketing metaphor, we have assembled a strong tail of authors! We are fortunate that Dr Simon Fieldhouse, a GDP in Bradford on Avon, and an international key opinion leader for digital dentistry, has written a very practical paper explaining CAD CAM technology and digital workflow, sharing his experiences in using it in practice. The introduction of ceramic materials, such as lithium disilicate, zirconia and the hybrid ceramics, has only been made possible due to CAD CAM, and it is appropriate that these materials and their developments are discussed. Dr Loo Chien Win researched this topic as part of her MSc in Restorative Dentistry and we are grateful to her for her contribution in this special edition, illustrated by clinical cases from Dr Peter Sands, GDP in Abingdon and part-time clinical lecturer. Lastly, but by no means least, we are privileged to have an excellent contribution dealing with the various new polymeric materials that may be used in the construction of removable partial dentures written by Drs David Gray, Olivia Barraclough, Zaid Ali and Prof Brian Nattress from the Leeds Dental Institute.
And so, the tailender arrives with a technique tips paper highlighting ten factors that should improve the clinical performance of dental materials and biomaterials and so, the prognosis of treatment for our patients.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy this special issue of Dental Update, and equally importantly, find the material contained therein informative, helpful and clinically relevant.