Composites: how well do you know them?

Advances in dental polymers have created cosmetic applications for the restoration of teeth and the sealing of cavities. The most well-known of these polymers are the composite systems. Today, the probability of a dental practice not needing to provide a cosmetic service utilizing one or more of these systems is extremely low. Yet, these systems are very technique and site sensitive. To improve, they will undergo more constant revisions than any other dental restoratives. Therefore, it is more difficult to develop a flawless routine for the practitioner's handling of each composite. A simple presentation of the composite systems from their technical design to their final clinical design should enhance the dental practitioner's ability to restore teeth successfully with any present or future restorative polymer. Composites can be chosen as a restorative in almost any situation where esthetics, convenience and reinforcement are required. Wider applications for the composite in dentistry have become available as a result of developments in the mechanical and physical properties of the resins, fillers, coupling agents and bonding agents within these materials.