Considerations for designing next-generation composite dental materials

Tooth-colored dental restorations, especially the ones produced chairside, have relatively short durability, leading to additional tooth loss and high costs. This chapter reviews previous research and highlights future considerations for designing new dental composite restorative materials. Materials that address failure due to the interactions with oral biofilms are explored, since secondary caries is a leading cause for restoration replacement. The process of dental caries is briefly reviewed, emphasizing the surface interactions between biofilms and materials, and the tooth structure. Current research into materials design solutions is described, and future perspectives are discussed. Importantly, a novel method for studying ion release from new dental materials and their interaction with the oral biofilm is presented.