Dear Colleagues,

The practice of dentistry depends completely on the properties and behavior of its specialized materials and processes. Advances in materials science, test methods, and characterization are at the heart of progress in most areas: Restorative dentistry uses resin composites and cements, such as glass ionomer; implantology is based on titanium and its alloys; other restorations use metals and a variety of ceramics from porcelain to CAD-CAM zirconia; orthodontics relies on the mechanics of metals; elastomers are used for impressions, in which models are cast in gypsum; and a wide variety of cutters and abrasives are used for shaping, finishing and oral hygiene. The list is very long.

After mechanical and physical properties, biocompatibility can be crucial, while appearance (i.e., optical properties, such as translucency) has become important for ‘ invisible repair &rsquo. Characterization is, therefore, essential, whether in the laboratory (static or accelerated ageing tests), in vitro tests for biocompatibility, and in vivo clinical trials. All this requires all available techniques to bring to bear: physical — whether mechanical, optical or chemical; numerical — statistical and FEM modeling; theoretical — fluid dynamics, molecular modeling; as well as observational — all the various spectroscopies, SEM. The scope for study is vast.

Dentistry relies directly on the full gamut of materials on a day to day basis (with perhaps as the sole exception superconductors) — a wider range than in any other profession, yet the observations of clinicians are key to putting into practice innovations, whether, for example, in nanostructured materials, osteointegration of implants, or more sophisticated restorative devices. 

Given this breadth and complexity, and thus the great importance of materials research to dentistry, it is our pleasure to invite authors from any discipline, whether physicists, chemists, materials scientists, dentists, dental technicians, biologists or medical doctors, to submit manuscripts for this Special Issue on “ Dental Materials &rdquo. Full papers, communications, opinion pieces, and especially critical ‘ state-of-the-art ’ reviews, are all welcome, the sole essential connection being materials science applied in, to or for dentistry.

Please notice that, in order to have the highest printed standard for the Special Issue, all the experimental data should be presented (including pre-test failures) and the main data should be accompanied with ANOVA tables in full. Experimental work without theoretical context (discussion and comparison with known concepts of chemistry and/or physics) will not be accepted. For the plots, scatter diagrams would be preferred over bar charts. No cartoons will be accepted, and all assertions should be referenced. The manuscripts should present a strict separation according to the following sections: Introduction, Experimental Section, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. The latter must be real bullet-point conclusions, and not just a summary of the work. Finally, even though open to innovations in the field, the Editors will favor honest assessment over optimistic hype, and realism over wishful thinking.

Independent copy-editing for all non-native English speakers is also encouraged, to save reviewers time and give authors the best chance of success.

Dr. Marco Salerno
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Dentistry Journal is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• polymers
• composites
• ceramics
• cements
• metals
• alloys
• elastomers
• abrasivess
• solid mechanics
• fluid mechanics
• characterization methods
• engineering design
• CAD
• numerical methods
• physical properties
• chemical properties
• mechanical properties
• rheology
• chemical composition
• structure
• ageing
• fatigue
• nanotechnology in dentistry
• surface science
• biocompatibility
• fillings
• dental prostheses
• scaffold materials
• adhesives, bioactivity
• natural dental tissues