Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the physiochemical characteristics of resin restorative material and its clinical application in repairing dental caries.
METHODS: Related papers published between January 1995 and January 2010 were searched using key words of “dental caries, resin, restoration, dental pulp, wear resistance and hardness” both in English and Chinese from databases of Medline and Chinese Journal Full-text Database.
RESULTS: As a kind of cosmetology repair material, the color of resin restorative material is similar to the natural teeth, and exhibits strong bonding force to enamel. But, the mechanical features of which is smaller than dental amalgam. The composite resin commonly comprised crystalline quartz and fumed silica, which had advantages of insufficient mechanical strength, poor wear resistance and great polymerization shrinkage. Recently, the research of resin gained breakthrough and newly typed composite resin was developed. Though the mechanical strength has been notably improved, it is still far from the requirement. The polymer-metal nano-resins, such as tantalum oxide nanoparticles and zirconia-based resin, can not only enhance the strength, decrease polymerization shrinkage, but also exhibit good appearance and surface properties, therefore are the  most promising materials. 
CONCLUSION: At present, plenty of resin restorative materials were used in caries fillings with own advantages and disadvantages. Novel composite resin would be widely used in future due to its unique superiority.