title: Modern restorative dentistry: a new approach.
abstract: An analysis of the role of restorative dentistry within oral health care shows that it has broadened its scope over its long history. It started with the replacement of lost teeth and, later, lesions and structural defects of tooth tissue were treated. Progress has been achieved through the development of new materials and procedures, specifically those that ensure microscopic and/or chemical adhesion and those that allow for the removal of infection tissue and its restoration, while protecting the remaining healthy structure of the tooth. Teeth can also be protected even before the initiation of an infected lesion by sealing morphologic features such as pits and fissures. All of these procedures are components of modern restorative dentistry which now contributes to the disappearance of the totally edentulous patient. Dentistry has the responsibility of helping in the generation of sufficient social and economic resource to make this modern restorative dentistry available to the community as a whole.
mesh_terms: D001840:Dental Bonding; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D003764:Dental Materials; D003813:Dentistry / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants
chemical_list: D003764:Dental Materials; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants