Dental Materials and Equipment

Dental practice today relies on an ever-expanding range of materials and devices that span preventive, restorative and regenerative applications. On the restorative side, advances in polymers, ceramics and composites—often reinforced with fibres or nanoparticles—have yielded prostheses and fillings that combine aesthetic demands with mechanical robustness. Simultaneously, digital workflows centred on intraoral scanners and computer-aided design/manufacturing (CAD/CAM) have transformed impressions, model production and prosthesis fitting, shortening turnaround times and reducing patient discomfort. In tissue engineering, bespoke scaffolds and injectable hydrogels offer minimally invasive routes to dentin, pulp and periodontal regeneration, harnessing stem cells and bioactive molecules. Beyond materials, innovations in infection control—including self-disinfecting formulations, ultraviolet-C cabinets and self-healing adhesive films—secure cross-contamination barriers while preserving dimensional accuracy and surface detail. Collectively, these developments underscore a shift towards personalised, data-driven dentistry that integrates novel biomaterials with precision instrumentation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

High-fidelity performance of intraoral scanners has been demonstrated in clinical settings. In vivo analyses comparing multiple widely used systems against industrial-grade references report median trueness values below 20 μm for dentate arches, while highlighting greater variability in edentulous and implant-bearing setups. Such findings guide practitioners in selecting scanners tailored to specific arch types and restorative scenarios.

Drawing inspiration from marine adhesives, a novel mucoadhesive film has been engineered for wet buccal tissues using catechol-rich polymers and polydopamine nanoparticles. This platform adheres strongly under saliva-saturated conditions, achieves covalent bonding with mucin and enhances transmucosal drug transport, yielding three- to six-fold improvements in local therapeutic bioavailability and accelerated mucosal healing.

A self-stabilised coenzyme-based elastomer patch has been developed for oral ulcers, combining hydrogen-bonded polymer networks with water-responsive release of bioactive lipoic acid derivatives. In animal ulcer models, the patch sustains adhesion and drug delivery for days, moderates inflammation, stabilises oral microbiota and promotes rapid re-epithelialisation and angiogenesis.

Dental Materials and Equipment publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in dental materials and equipment across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Intraoral scanner (IOS): A handheld device that captures three-dimensional digital impressions of teeth and soft tissues for CAD/CAM workflows.

Trueness: The degree to which a digital impression conforms to the actual dimensions of the scanned anatomy.

Precision: The consistency of repeated scans under identical conditions, expressed as the variation between datasets.

Scaffold: A three-dimensional, porous biomaterial that supports cell adhesion, proliferation and tissue development in regenerative procedures.

Hydrogel: A hydrated polymer network used to deliver cells or therapeutics and to mimic soft tissue matrices.

Resin infiltration: A micro-invasive technique that uses low-viscosity resin to penetrate and reinforce subsurface enamel porosities, arresting lesion progression and improving aesthetics.

References

1. Trueness and precision of intraoral scanners in the maxillary dental arch: an in vivo analysis. Scientific Reports (2020).
2. A mussel-inspired film for adhesion to wet buccal tissue and efficient buccal drug delivery. Nature Communications (2021).
3. A self-stabilized and water-responsive deliverable coenzyme-based polymer binary elastomer adhesive patch for treating oral ulcer. Nature Communications (2023).
4. Evaluation of the accuracy of intraoral scanners for complete-arch scanning: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Journal of Dentistry (2023).
5. 3D Bioprinting of Polycaprolactone-Based Scaffolds for Pulp-Dentin Regeneration: Investigation of Physicochemical and Biological Behavior. Polymers (2021).
6. Efficacy of resin infiltration to mask post-orthodontic or non-post-orthodontic white spot lesions or fluorosis — a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Oral Investigations (2021).
7. Aesthetic caries infiltration – Long-term masking efficacy after 6 years. Journal of Dentistry (2023).
8. Efficacy and design requirements of UV light cabinets for disinfection of exchangeable non-sterilizable “dental objects”. Scientific Reports (2023).