Compomers: between glass-ionomer cements and composites.

The term 'compomer' was crafted by the producers of the first commercial material of this kind: a polyacid-modified composite resin, sold as a filling material for some specific applications. This term should recall the composite resins and glass-ionomer cements, since some features of these two generic materials are found in the compomers. Compomers contain a bifunctional monomer, which should be able to react with the pendant methacrylate groups of other monomers, as well as with the cations liberated by the glass particles. Several products of this kind are now available, and the purpose of this paper is to describe some of their specificities and to compare their influence on the mechanical properties, water uptake and fluoride release.