What is Adhesive Dentistry?

Adhesive dentistry deals with bonding to the natural substance of teeth, mainly enamel and dentin. Researchers in adhesive dentistry study the nature and strength of adhesion to dental hard tissues, properties of adhesive materials, causes and mechanisms of failure of the bonds, clinical techniques for bonding and newer applications for bonding such as bonding to the soft tissue.

Dental bonding is a dental procedure in which a dentist applies a tooth-colored resin material (a durable plastic material) and cures it with visible, blue light. This ultimately "bonds" the material to the tooth and improves the overall appearance of teeth. In the recent years, excellent bonding materials have become available for dental practitioners as the result of extensive research work and developments in the field. The International Academy of Adhesive Dentistry is home to outstanding researchers, practitioners and dental manufacturers who advance this important field of dentistry.

Adhesion to the dental tissue has made it possible for clinicians to preserve more tooth structure and cut or grind less tissue when making a dental filling or reconstruction. Thanks to the adhesive dentistry, dentists nowadays have a broader range of treatment options to present to the patients when dealing with restoring/filling or repairing existing teeth.

On the IAAD website, a number of cases have been selected to demonstrate dental treatments made possible through dental adhesion.