Intelligent Materials: Breaking New Grounds in Dentistry

Intelligent materials are the smart materials, whose properties can be altered in a controlled manner by stimuli like stress, temperature, pH, moisture, magnetic or electric fields, for e.g.- pit and fissure sealant, smart antimicrobial peptides, smart impression materials, smart cement, smart sutures etc. Shape memory polymers are thermo responsive and sensitive to pH, which swell or shrink in response to change in pH. Bio smart materials can sense these one or more properties by environmental stimulus (pH, temperature). This type of change in properties is useful and beneficial for various purposes in the world of dentistry. Cement based piezoelectric functional composite are also introduced. Some of them are biomimetic and can mimic the natural tooth appearance and structures such as enamel and dentine. These materials hold future in term of improved efficiency and mark the beginning of a new era or generation in Smart dentistry.