All around us, science is rapidly expanding with new knowledge. Focusing on health care, many dentists and dental researchers are involved in these developments. Cutting-edge research continues to cross the boundaries of established domains, exploring new venues in search for answers to unresolved clinical problems. Whether that new knowledge is in dental materials science, our profession's backbone for decades, or moves to incorporate biological and social sciences, our knowledge base is expanding exponentially in each of these arenas.
How does this relate to the management of dental caries? Despite the many advances over the last decades, caries disease is still a major health care problem for many of us, and increasingly so on a global scale. This presentation is placing biologic and materials advances in a broader perspective, to show their potential complimentary impact on oral health: on dental practice, research and health care policy.