title: Fractals in restorative treatment of teeth.
abstract: Previous studies support the view that the oral medium is a dynamic system composed of several elements, among which are restorations in teeth. The author believes that the evolution in time of a restoration can be non-lineal and that it has an irregular and chaotic behaviour. To investigate the theory, the author studied, between 1991 and 1994, on their first visit to a dental clinic in Salamanca, the restorations of 583 patients of both sexes. The group results were distributed throughout three age ranges, i.e. 16-65, 26-55 and 36-45. In each group the total number of fillings in situ in each tooth was recorded using the method 'Expansion-Contraction Systems'. The results show that the restorative treatment of teeth using fillings follows a non-lineal dynamic of chaotic behaviour and irregular geometry, which suggests it is a fractal.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D003764:Dental Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D012212:Rheology; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003764:Dental Materials