**1. Introduction**

Tooth decay, which is undoubtedly associated with dental sciences, was the cause of a great progress and development in that field. It is a disease that causes permanent destruction of the tissues of the tooth. Therefore, a lot of research was conducted in order to create materials appropriate for restoration of those losses. Particularly in the last quarter, there was a very great progress in the field of dental materials science [1–3].

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2017 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Complications related to the tooth decay can lead to many diseases of pulp and periodontal. Therefore, scientists are still carrying out research on new materials, therapeutic techniques and medicines. Currently, on the market of medical supplies, it is possible to distinguish materials that:


The problem of reconstruction of lost parts of the body as a result of an accident or an illness accompanies human life since time immemorial. The same problem applies to the dentistry. Replacement of tooth structure constitutes an extensive section of dentistry and is necessary from an aesthetic and functional point of view. Some important factors have an impact on the process of reconstruction as well as on achieving a satisfactory effect. Such factors should be mentioned as the availability of suitable materials, growth of technology and procedures used during application and development of fields of science such as chemistry, biology and physics, without which the progress of dentistry would be impossible. In order to enable a better understanding of the above-mentioned considerations in **Figure 1**, dependencies of various sciences applied in dentistry are presented.

The principles of physics, chemistry and biology are certainly used when comparing the physical and structural characteristics of restorative materials as well as during their application. The knowledge of these principles is very important for every dentist because with their help, it is possible to understand the basic phenomena such as melting or cooling of alloys or formation of crystalline structures in tested materials. It is also important to be able to predict

**Figure 1.** Schematic relationship between the sciences and the development of dentistry.

the chemical reactions which can occur during reconstruction of defects by using different materials or alloys. Of course from the clinical point of view, it is essential that conducted research was as practical as possible. However, practical clinical dentistry and scientific theory will not demonstrate desirable progress and will not become mutually friendly if these areas will not be developing in parallel drawing on mutual reports [4–6].

Complications related to the tooth decay can lead to many diseases of pulp and periodontal. Therefore, scientists are still carrying out research on new materials, therapeutic techniques and medicines. Currently, on the market of medical supplies, it is possible to distinguish

The problem of reconstruction of lost parts of the body as a result of an accident or an illness accompanies human life since time immemorial. The same problem applies to the dentistry. Replacement of tooth structure constitutes an extensive section of dentistry and is necessary from an aesthetic and functional point of view. Some important factors have an impact on the process of reconstruction as well as on achieving a satisfactory effect. Such factors should be mentioned as the availability of suitable materials, growth of technology and procedures used during application and development of fields of science such as chemistry, biology and physics, without which the progress of dentistry would be impossible. In order to enable a better understanding of the above-mentioned considerations in **Figure 1**, dependencies of various

The principles of physics, chemistry and biology are certainly used when comparing the physical and structural characteristics of restorative materials as well as during their application. The knowledge of these principles is very important for every dentist because with their help, it is possible to understand the basic phenomena such as melting or cooling of alloys or formation of crystalline structures in tested materials. It is also important to be able to predict

**Figure 1.** Schematic relationship between the sciences and the development of dentistry.

materials that:

26 Acrylic Polymers in Healthcare

• Treat disease states.

• Eliminate and prevent pathological conditions.

• Prevent chemotoxic iatrogenic states.

• Stimulate regeneration processes [1–3].

sciences applied in dentistry are presented.

Continuing the discussion on the development of dentistry, an important issue is undoubtedly a history of this field of medicine, which began several hundred years before the period of Christianity. The first actions in the field of dentistry include the receipt of dentures on the basis of gold by Phoenicians. Subsequently, metals such as tin, copper, silver and lead began to play an important role in the synthesis of dental materials. In 990 B.C., methods of iron processing have been identified. Currently, scientists do not have any information about who and in what way constructed prehistoric dental restorations prevailed at that period. Certainly we can say that the role played during that period by goldsmiths and artisans was as important as that one plays nowadays by dental technicians [4–6].

As for the practice of using dental bridges and crowns, it is likely to be developed in ancient Rome around 500 B.C. The ability of carrying out such treatments is associated with the fact that people possessed appropriate skills of soldering and riveting at such a level that conducted operation did not cause bodily injury. It is obvious that craftsmen and other persons performing such treatments must be characterized by thorough understanding of melting process and execution of fluxes [4–6].

Further development of civilization apart from dental restorations and application of the aforementioned dental bridges and crowns attempts in which improperly functioning tooth was replaced by tooth of another patient or by tooth derived from the animal have been taken. It was based on immobilization of the tooth in the mouth by means of a wire. It should also be noted that ancients personally produced the mentioned wire [7].

Period from 1600 to 1840 was considered as the beginning of dental science. Previously, this field of medicine was perceived as a craft made mostly by craftsmen. In 1746 on a market, a book of Claude Munton entitled *Essay on the dental techniques or dissertation on artificial teeth* appeared and treated with a mechanical aspect of dentistry. In that publication, goldbased buckles and dental crowns that maintained the artificial teeth in the mouth have been described. During the following years, a number of texts about dentistry have been written in which it was mentioned about teeth of ivory, gold pins used for maintaining teeth as well as about porcelain as a material for the preparation of teeth and platinum that was used for the synthesis of dental hooks [7, 8].

Work of R.C. Skinner that was written in 1801 is considered as a first textbook about dentistry. In that time, dentistry began to be perceived as a professional field of science created by dentists and surgeons. In subsequent years, the progress and development of other sciences were accompanied by an invention of the amalgam, which was considered as one of the greatest and most important discoveries in the field of restorative materials (**Figure 2**). Furthermore, a lot of dissertations on the dental subjects have been created, as well as new technologies have been developed at a satisfactory pace [9].

**Figure 2.** Amalgam as a dental filling.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a large development of the field of plastic was observed. In 1869, a new material that was called 'celluloid' was presented. In 1871 that material was used as a restoration which was a turning point for the introduction of plastics for the dental industry. Despite its advantages such as ease of handling or resistance to fracture, new material was also characterized by many disadvantages including an undesirable colour change and emission of mercury causing drooling and inflammations in the mouth. Thus, in conjunction with further explorations of new material, next materials that have been proposed by researchers were phenol-formaldehyde resins [10]. As in the case of celluloid despite initial delight of dentists in these resins, it became quickly apparent that they do not meet the basic requirements. Thus in 1935, ICI company unveiled a new material which was poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) also known as 'organic glass' which is associated with its transparent properties. At first, PMMA was not applied in dentistry due to many technological problems. However, in 1937, a new method of synthesis of the mentioned polymer was developed in which PMMA was obtained in the form of beads and not in the form of plates as it was previously the case. Then, a special methodology was developed aimed at combining beads of polymer with monomer in order to obtain an elastic mass. In **Figure 3**, PMMA in a form of plates (A) and beads (B) is presented.

Detailed application of this polymer and the other belonging to the group of acrylates will be presented in subsequent parts of this chapter.

**Figure 3.** PMMA in a form of plates (A) and beads (B).
