Material-Tissue Interfacial Phenomena

Book excerpt: Material-Tissue Interfacial Phenomena: Contributions from Dental and Craniofacial Reconstructions explores the material/tissue interfacial phenomena using dental and craniofacial reconstructions as a model system. As the mouth is a particularly caustic environment, the synthetic and/or bio-enabled materials used to repair damaged tissues and restore form, function, and esthetics to oral structures must resist a variety of physical, chemical, and mechanical challenges. These challenges are magnified at the interface between dissimilar structures such as the tooth/material interface. Interfacial reactions at the atomic, molecular, and nano-scales initiate the failure of materials used to repair, restore, and reconstruct dental and craniofacial tissues. Understanding the phenomena that lead to failure at the interface between dissimilar structures, such as synthetic materials and biologic tissues, is confounded by a variety of factors that are thoroughly discussed in this comprehensive book. - Provides a specific focus on the oral environment - Combines clinical views and basic science into a useful reference book - Presents comprehensive coverage of material-interfacial phenomena within the oral environment