title: Biosmart materials: breaking new ground in dentistry.
abstract: By definition and general agreement, smart materials are materials that have properties which may be altered in a controlled fashion by stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, and electric or magnetic fields. There are numerous types of smart materials, some of which are already common. Examples include piezoelectric materials, which produce a voltage when stress is applied or vice versa, shape memory alloys or shape memory polymers which are thermoresponsive, and pH sensitive polymers which swell or shrink as a response to change in pH. Thus, smart materials respond to stimuli by altering one or more of their properties. Smart behaviour occurs when a material can sense some stimulus from its environment and react to it in a useful, reliable, reproducible, and usually reversible manner. These properties have a beneficial application in various fields including dentistry. Shape memory alloys, zirconia, and smartseal are examples of materials exhibiting a smart behavior in dentistry. There is a strong trend in material science to develop and apply these intelligent materials. These materials would potentially allow new and groundbreaking dental therapies with a significantly enhanced clinical outcome of treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A.M.E'S Dental College, Hospital and Research centre, Bijengere Road, Raichur 584103, India.
authors.forename: Vijetha
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Badami
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, A.M.E'S Dental College, Hospital and Research centre, Bijengere Road, Raichur 584103, India.
authors.forename: Bharat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ahuja
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003813:Dentistry / Q000639:trends*; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D005899:Glass Ionomer Cements; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium