RECENT ADVANCES IN BIOACTIVE DENTAL MATERIALS FOR PULP PRESERVATION AND HARD-TISSUE REGENERATION: A REVIEW

Bioactive materials in dentistry are not novel but what is fundamentally different to these materials as compared to conventional dental materials. One of the decisions when it comes to choosing the most appropriate restorative material for a case is knowing what bioactive dental materials are, how they work, and where and at which time to use themwith opportunities for vital pulp therapy and regeneration of dental hard tissues.This review aims to summarize recent developments made on bioactive, biomimetic and next-generation dental materials, focusing on their biological mechanisms, regenerative potential, clinical implementation, and current limitations. Calcium silicate-based materials, especially mineral trioxide aggregate and Biodentine, have shown good biocompatibility, calcium-ion release, apatite formation and reparative dentin formation induction capacities, all of which allow them to be widely used in vital pulp therapy.