Aspects of the use and abuse of aesthetic restoratives. 2. Dentine adhesives and glass-ionomer cements.

Modern materials offer great promise in the aesthetic restoration of teeth. However, their performance in practice may not fulfil this promise. This is often because of inadequate understanding of the scientific principles behind the new materials, leading to misuse. In Part 1 of this article the author reviewed some of the physical properties of composites, and explained both their proper use and their limitations. In Part 2 he looks at dentine adhesives and glass-ionomer cements.