Keynote Address: Translating Dental Materials Research into Clinical Outcomes

Because of the fast development of dental materials, most of these materials are marketed without long-term clinical trials. Therefore, in vitro studies should always attempt to simulate in vivo situations in order to provide clinically-significant results. Recent technologies associated to improved dental materials have lead to more predictable clinical outcomes. This is due to a better understanding of dental materials, types of substrate, different techniques, and operator limitations. The objective of this presentation is to discuss how dental materials research contributes to the understanding of both successful and unsuccessful clinical outcomes.