Abstract
Indirect restorations play a major role in the restoration of teeth. Clinicians generally place crowns for functional reasons in posterior teeth and to replace lost and/or weakened tooth substance, while, in anterior teeth, indirect restorations such as crowns and veneers may be placed to improve or restore aesthetics. In this respect, the clinician today has a wide range of tooth-coloured materials at his/her disposal in contrast to 30 years ago when aluminous porcelain had just been introduced and methyl-methacrylate was used for crowning teeth. Contemporary materials for indirect dentistry now include a wide range of resin-based composite variants and an array of ceramic materials, many of which now utilize computer-aided design and manufacture. While there was little change in the luting cements used for indirect restorations for many years, resin luting materials, which are available in a wide range of shades, are now used to facilitate the placement of thin ceramic restorations such as dentine-bonded crowns and porcelain laminate veneers. Adhesive resin cements, without the drawbacks of etching and bonding, are now available and should increase the use of resin-luting materials.