ABSTRACT
“Bioactive” material is not a new term to dentistry, but inexperienced for direct restorative materials, especially for resin-based dental composites. It is known as a material that can have a biological effect or be biologically active and form a bond between the tissues and the material. Remarkably, the dental applications represented by restorative materials are the favorable demanding driver for the bioactive materials sector. In principle, the design of bioactive polymeric dental materials needs to be closely related to the end clinical use, when the bioactive elements or compounds incorporated into dental material reach the target area. The polymeric restorative materials used in pediatrics overlap with the majority of restorative materials used for adult patients. Special attention has been given to convey bioactivity to a specific class of preventive materials: resin-based sealants. In the dental specialty, the polymeric materials are mainly proposed for the bonding of orthodontic brackets and acrylic base formulations for removable orthodontic appliances.
