Promising new dental materials on the horizon.

The rapidly evolving field of materials science is providing dentistry with new treatments and alternatives. Calcium phosphate materials are under development for bone repair and replacement, root surface desensitization, and for caries prevention, by greatly increasing the remineralizing efficiency of fluorides. Composites fabricated from calcium phosphates and polymers may have application as pulp capping and cavity-basing materials. An alternative to mercury dental amalgam is being investigated; it is composed of silver powders that are cold-welded in the presence of a dilute acid. These materials are only a few of the technologies that may profoundly affect the future delivery of dental care.