Biomedical Applications of Smart Materials in Dentistry

Abstract

Smart materials provide new insights for the design of biomaterials in the dentistry, since they have specific characteristics and unusual properties. Smart materials exhibit a number of remarkable properties, which opennew possibilities in engineering and more specifically in biomechanical engineering. In this paper, a series of new biomedical applications for specific behavior of smart materials is presented. Examples are given of the use of the extraordinary shape ability of the martensitic material, in some cases in combination with high tensile strength, which makes memory metal a very special engineering material. Examples are given of instruments and dental implants using memory metals for functions as distraction, adjustability for customization, measuring, steerability, and locking-unlocking of devices. These materials have medical applications range from orthodontic arch wires and endoscopic instruments to endovascular stents. This paper will focus on key performance attributes of smart material that make it an ideal material for medical applications. The most important alloy used in biomedical applications is shape memory alloy. A shape memory alloy is widely recognized and accepted for using in the dentistry. In this work, the basis of the memory effect lies in the fact that the materials exhibiting such a property undergo a thermoelastic martensitic transformation. In order to understand even the most elementary engineering aspects of the shape memory effect it is necessary to review some basic principles of the formation and the characteristics of the martensitic phase. The different properties of shape memory, superelasticity, two-way shape memory, rubber-like behavior and a high damping capacity are reviewed