Adhesion in Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics

Adhesive dentistry has evolved rapidly. There are two main incentives that have driven this revolution. First- is the want and need of the patient. They desire not only functionally and anatomically sound restorations, but also esthetically pleasing ones. Second- from our perspective, the need of the hour is 'minimally invasive' or 'minimum intervention' care. This means that only the lost and diseased tooth tissue is replaced by the restorative material that is directly bonded to the remaining sound tissue. Another school of thought is 'maintenance and repair' rather than replacing entire restorations (exhibiting marginal discoloration and/ or defects) and this has further boosted the use of adhesive technology in diverse applications of everyday clinical practice. Little did Buonocore appreciate the impact of his discovery on the quality of dental care more than 50 years later.