Other Dental Materials: Cements, Grafts and More

Temporary (provisional) materials protect a tooth or fill a gap while the final work is made; they do not replace it. How long they stay depends on the material and your treatment plan, so ask how long yours is meant to last.

• Temporary crowns and bridges. A 2022 review divides the resins used for them into two broad types¹: resins based on PMMA or a related acrylic, and bis-acrylic resins. They can be shaped in the mouth, or milled or 3D-printed¹. Some are made to stay in the mouth for longer¹.
• Temporary fillings and dressings. When root canal treatment needs more than one appointment, the tooth will be temporarily dressed² between visits. In 2006 the European Society of Endodontology (ESE) called an effective temporary restoration essential to prevent contamination³ of the canals between visits.
• Immediate dentures. These are fitted on the day teeth are taken out and can fill the gap while the gums heal. As the gum and bone change shape, they often need adjusting or replacing within about a year⁴.

If a temporary crown or filling comes off, see a dentist soon to protect the tooth, and do not glue it back yourself. Our page on acrylic in dentures and temporary teeth explains provisional resins and dentures in more detail.

A crown, inlay or veneer made outside the mouth has to be fixed to the tooth. In both of the broad ways of doing this, a thin layer of material fills the space between the restoration and the prepared tooth. The choice depends on the material and the tooth.

• Conventional cementing. A cement fills the space and holds the restoration in place. In 2015 the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) published an opinion on filling materials. It says glass ionomer cements bind chemically to dental hard tissues⁵.
• Adhesive bonding. The tooth and the fitting surface of the restoration are first treated, so that the material bonds to both. The 2015 opinion describes bonding systems made up of etchants, primers and bonding resins⁵. Glass ceramics such as lithium disilicate can be etched with acid and treated with silane, which allows a strong adhesive bond⁶. Bonding to zirconia can be challenging⁶.

Either way, the design has to leave the right space. A 2014 review says that with too much space, the restoration fits loosely; with none, it will not fit⁷ unless it is adjusted by hand.

Some materials can be fixed in more than one way. One manufacturer says its milled lithium disilicate restorations can be fixed adhesively, self-adhesively or with conventional cement⁸, depending on the clinical situation.

A crown on an implant can be cemented onto the abutment (the connecting part fixed to the implant) or held by a small screw. An international consensus says neither failure nor complication can be avoided⁹ by choosing one method. Problems can occur with both, but which problems are more common differs between them⁹. Cement left under the gum is a possible risk indicator¹⁰ for inflammation around the implant. Ask which method is planned for you, and why. Our composite resin page explains how composite is bonded.

An impression records the shape of your teeth and gums, so that a restoration, denture or appliance can be made to fit.

• Conventional impressions. A tray of soft material is pressed over the teeth and left to set. Clinical studies of implant impressions have compared scans with impressions in polyvinyl siloxane or polyether materials¹¹.
• Digital scans. An intraoral scanner records the teeth and gums as a 3D model on a computer. With a scan, no plaster model is needed¹².
• Models. In the conventional route, a laboratory pours a model from the impression. A 2014 review describes recording an impression, pouring a stone model and constructing a wax pattern⁷. Models can also be 3D-printed from a scan. A 2021 review names working models for diagnosis and surgery¹³ as the most common use of 3D printing in dentistry. It adds that the accuracy of printed models is somewhat reduced¹³ compared with that of the digital files.

Neither method suits every case. A 2017 review found that scans did not appear to have the same accuracy as conventional impressions¹² for long bridges and full arches. Our digital scanning page explains when each method is used, including later studies of full arches on implants.

Graft materials help the body rebuild bone or gum. Bone grafts are used where there is too little bone for an implant, for example in a sinus lift.

• Where bone graft material comes from. Cambridge University Hospitals, a UK hospital trust, wrote a leaflet for its own patients. It says graft material can come from yourself, another person, an animal or a synthetic source¹⁴. The graft creates a scaffold for your own bone to grow into¹⁴. Covering membranes can also be of animal origin.
• Does the source change the result? A review looked at sinus lifts done through a window in the side of the sinus, with at least five years of follow-up. In its studies, 6 mm of bone or less was left below the sinus¹⁵. The review found no significant difference¹⁵ in implant loss between your own bone and bone substitutes. That does not show that every material works equally well.
• Gum grafts. For receding gums, a collagen material of animal origin can be used instead of tissue taken from your palate. In a 2025 review, there was less pain after surgery with it in three of four trials¹⁶. But in trials of several receded teeth, complete root coverage was more frequent with your own tissue¹⁷.
• Regeneration in gum surgery. Guy's and St Thomas', a hospital trust in London, explains gum surgery to its patients. It says it may apply some material to try and regenerate (re-grow) bone and attachment¹⁸.

If animal-derived products matter to you, for religious or personal reasons, say so before you consent. The Cambridge leaflet asks anyone with concerns about use of animal-based products¹⁴ to discuss them with the surgeon. The leaflet also lists problems after a sinus lift, among them infection, exposure of the graft and too little new bone for an implant¹⁴. Our bone grafting page explains when a graft is proposed and its risks.

Root canal (endodontic) treatment removes infected or inflamed tissue from inside a tooth, then cleans and fills the canals. A leaflet that Leeds Teaching Hospitals, also a UK hospital trust, wrote for its own patients describes the materials used along the way.

• a rubber sheet (a rubber dam, also called a dental dam) keeps the tooth dry and prevents infection from saliva²;
• the canals are washed with a disinfectant, which the leaflet calls dental bleach²;
• between appointments, the tooth has a temporary dressing;
• a root filling is placed to prevent re-infection².

In 2006 the ESE said root filling materials should be biocompatible, dimensionally stable and able to seal³. They should also show up on X-rays and be removable if the tooth needs treating again. It also said a solid or semi-solid filling material should be combined with a sealer, which fills the gaps between it and the canal wall³. The ESE's 2023 guideline, summarised by its authors in 2025, says filling the canals with gutta-percha and a sealer¹⁹ may be considered. The sealer can be based on epoxy resin, zinc oxide-eugenol or calcium silicate; the guideline does not rank them.

A different treatment aims to keep the nerve alive when deep decay has exposed it (vital pulp therapy). For this, the guideline recommends a protocol that includes a hydraulic calcium silicate cement¹⁹. This protocol is one of the guideline's recommendations on deep decay. Its summary says these were expert-based recommendations, made because studies were lacking¹⁹. They rest on the views of the guideline's authors rather than on research evidence.

After root canal treatment the tooth usually needs a filling, onlay or crown. The Leeds leaflet says the success of the treatment depends on this final seal². Among the risks, it lists dental bleach or filling material passing out through the root end. This may cause pain, burning, swelling, bruising, numbness or tingling of the face, and may need further treatment². Our root canal treatment page explains the treatment and its risks.

If pain keeps increasing, or you have facial swelling or a fever, see a dentist without waiting for the clinic's reply. Ask your own dentist for an urgent appointment, or see a dentist where you are.

Emergencies. With a suspected dental abscess, the following need urgent medical help²⁰. Do not wait for a dental appointment or for the clinic's reply. Go to the nearest emergency department or call the emergency number where you are.

• It is hard to breathe, speak, swallow or open your mouth
• A swollen or painful eye, or sudden problems with your eyesight
• A lot of swelling inside your mouth

Your dentist proposes a material at an examination, tooth by tooth. The questions that usually matter are:

• The job. Whether it must protect a tooth for weeks or last for years. Whether it is made in the mouth or in a laboratory.
• The site and the forces. Front or back teeth, your bite, and whether you clench or grind your teeth.
• How it will be fixed. Bonded, cemented or, on an implant, screwed (see "Cements and bonding materials").
• The product's instructions. Each product has its own limits (see "Traceability and product instructions").
• Your health. In 2015 SCENIHR advised basing the choice of filling material on patient characteristics. It named whether the tooth is a baby tooth or an adult tooth, pregnancy, allergies to components of dental materials and reduced kidney function⁵.
• The evidence. Studies show what tends to happen in groups of patients and restorations. They cannot predict exactly how your own will do.

Ask which material and product are proposed for you, why, and what the alternatives are.

Biocompatibility describes how a material and the tissues of the body respond to each other. Reactions to dental materials are uncommon. In its 2015 opinion, SCENIHR put local reactions in the mouth to dental materials in general, including allergy, at an incidence below 0.3 per cent⁵. It said they are usually readily managed. It also named substances that cause allergy in patients and dental staff. Among them were two resin ingredients, TEGDMA and HEMA, and the metals nickel, cobalt and palladium from alloys⁵.

• Resins and acrylics. Acrylic sets when small molecules (monomers) join up. A 2026 narrative review says that leftover monomer in acrylic resins can trigger delayed allergic reactions²¹.
• Metals. A 2026 review found it difficult to estimate²² how common dental metal allergy is. For titanium, the German guideline on titanium hypersensitivity says intolerance is not adequately documented²³.
• Materials of animal origin. Some graft materials and membranes come from animals (see "Grafting and regenerative materials").

Tell your dentist about any reaction you have had to dental materials, latex (natural rubber), metals, acrylic nails or adhesives. If a reaction is suspected later, the product names in your records help a dentist find out what was used. Our pages on titanium and on metal-ceramic restorations and dental alloys explain metal sensitivity in more detail. If you notice a reaction after treatment, contact your dentist. If you have trouble breathing or swallowing, do not wait: go to the nearest emergency department or call the emergency number where you are.

Traceability means that you, or a dentist later on, can find out exactly what was used in your mouth.

• Custom-made items. A crown, bridge or denture made for one patient is a custom-made device. Turkey's medical device regulation was prepared in line with EU legislation²⁴. Under it, the maker draws up a statement for each such device, and the device is accompanied by that statement²⁴. The regulation does not say that the statement is given to you; ask for a copy.
• Factory-made products. Cements, bonding agents, impression and graft materials, root fillings and implants are made by manufacturers. Ask for each product's name, its manufacturer and its batch (lot) number where there is one.
• Product instructions. Manufacturers say how their products should be used. One, for example, gives minimum thicknesses for veneers and crowns⁸ made from its milled ceramic, and the ways they may be fixed.
• What is in a product. In 2015 SCENIHR noted that the full chemical make-up of tooth-coloured filling materials is not always divulged⁵. The product name lets a dentist look up what the manufacturer does publish.
• Your treatment record. For root canal treatment, the ESE's 2006 guidelines list the root filling material, sealer and technique³ among the details to record.

Our dental laboratory page explains the statement for custom-made devices and what it contains.

Our dental materials page compares the main families of materials and links to each detailed page.

• Ceramics: porcelain and dental ceramics, zirconia, lithium disilicate, and e.max (a trade name for one manufacturer's product family).
• Metals: titanium, and metal-ceramic restorations with their dental alloys.
• Resins: composite resin, and acrylic in dentures and temporary teeth.
• How restorations are made: the dental laboratory, CAD/CAM and digital scanning.

The bone grafting and root canal treatment pages, linked above, explain those treatments.

Before treatment, ask in writing:

• which temporary, cementing or bonding, impression, graft and root filling materials are planned, with their product names and manufacturers;
• for any graft or membrane, its source: your own body, a human donor, an animal or a synthetic material;
• where any custom-made item will be made, and whether you will receive a copy of its statement;
• what the written terms say if a temporary restoration comes off, a crown comes loose or a root-filled tooth gives trouble after you are home;
• the aftercare plan: when your reviews are, who carries them out once you are home, and whom to contact if a problem appears;
• who pays for the repair and for any extra trip.

In private dental facilities in Turkey, a consent form is required for every intervention²⁵. Two copies of the form are signed, and one is given to you²⁶. Ask for your copy.

Take home for your own dentist a written record of the materials and products used, with batch (lot) numbers where they exist. For root canal treatment, add which teeth were treated and the root filling material and sealer. Ask for copies of your X-rays and for your aftercare plan in writing as well. Turkey's 2025 health tourism regulation entitles international patients, on request, to copies of the records of the materials used, the tests and the imaging²⁷. These copies are given without charge²⁷.

Aftercare. Later problems are usually first seen by your own dentist near your home. Before you go, ask your dentist whether they will see you afterwards. If you do not have a dentist where you live, it helps to find one before you travel. In an emergency, do not wait for the clinic's reply. Go to the nearest emergency department or call the emergency number where you are. What a health service or an insurer covers after treatment abroad differs from country to country. Before you go, ask the health service or your insurer where you live what they would cover.

Your choice. A second opinion from a dentist near your home gives you a point of comparison, and having treatment there remains an option. You can say no, or ask to stop, at any stage. Once a tooth has been prepared, that step cannot be undone. More questions to ask before treatment abroad are on our page on dental treatment abroad.