FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITES

The use new era in dental restorative materials began in 1955 when Buonocore found that acrylic resin formed acceptable micro mechanical adhesion with dry enamel that had been etched with phosphoric acid. In the current age of adhesive dentistry or microdentistry conservation of tooth structure is paramount. The advances in material and techniques for adhesive dentistry have allowed the development of non-invasive or minimally invasive approaches. Fiber reinforced composites is one such material. Reinforcement of dental resins with short or long fibers in contrast to the widely used particulate reinforcement has been described in the literature for at least 30 years. However while virtually all of the reports show positive results fiber reinforcement has never been adapted to routine clinical practice. Therefore knowledge of basic principles for use of this material technique to optimize the clinical success and its applications is of utmost important to dentist.The use of FRCs in both implants dentistry and removable prosthodontics has broad potential.