Dental Ceramics and Ormocer Technology--Navigating the Future‪!‬

The use of ceramics in dentistry is a multi-billion dollar industry, involving many different proprietary materials. Current applications of ceramics in dentistry include fillings, crowns, veneers, implants and dental brackets. Dental pins are devices which are inserted into the mandible and are used to hold prosthetic teeth in place. They are usually made from bioactive materials such as low silica glass or hydroxyl apatite. They are used because of their ability to bond to biological tissues permanently. Composites such as ceramic filled polymers and short fiber reinforcements are also being used. Ormocer is one such material. Ormocer materials contain inorganic-organic copolymers in addition to the inorganic silanated filler particles. It is synthesized through a solution and gelation processes (sol-gel process) from multifunctional urethane and thioether(meth)acrylate alkoxysilanes. Ormocers are described as 3-dimensionally cross-linked copolymers. Ormocer was formulated in an attempt to overcome the problems created by the polymerization shrinkage of conventional composites because the coefficient of thermal expansion is very similar to natural tooth structure. Ceramics in dentistry will be explored and challenges facing the ceramics community will be emphasized. The key words for dentistry may soon be "fast" and "ceramic.... And that's where ceramics come in. Introduction