This article reviews the applications of traditional glasses in architecture, transportation, construction, houseware, containers, and fibers. It also describes uses of specialty glasses for aerospace and military applications, biomedical and dental applications, chemical-resistant applications, lighting, information display, electronic processing and electronic devices, optical and ophthalmic products, and communications equipment.

This article discusses the composition of the major components of dental composite resins: organic resin matrix, filler, coupling agents, and initiator-accelerator systems. It describes the properties of composite resins that are related to the amount and type of filler and resin-matrix compositions. The article also discusses the compositions, properties, and clinical applications of polyacid-modified composite resins and resin-modified glass-ionomer cements. It concludes with information on biodegradation and biocompatibility of resin-based restorative materials.

The biocompatibility of a material relates to its immunological response, toxicity profile, and ability to integrate with surrounding tissue without undesirable local or systemic effects on a patient. This article underscores the transformation of the medical device design ecosystem engaged as an integral part of the device ecosystem. It discusses the applications of biomaterials, including orthopedic, cardiovascular, ophthalmic, and dental applications. The article describes four major categories of biomaterials such as metals, polymers, glass and ceramics, and composites. A discussion on natural materials, nanomaterials, and stem cells is also provided. The article concludes with examples of biomaterials applications, such as endovascular devices, knee implants, and neurostimulation.

This article reviews friction and wear of various dental materials that have been studied by fundamental wear measurements, simulated service wear measurements, and clinical measurements. The materials include dental amalgam, composite restorative materials, pit and fissure sealants, dental cements, porcelain and plastic denture teeth, dental feldspathic porcelain and ceramics, endodontic instruments, periodontal instruments, and orthodontic wires. The article describes the correlations of properties such as the hardness, fracture toughness, and wear. It provides information on wear mechanism such as the sliding adhesive wear, two-body abrasion, three-body abrasion, erosion, and fatigue.

One of the most frequently cited advantages of ceramics in dentistry relates to aesthetics, and the same applies for dental implants. Zirconia has emerged as the material of choice for nonmetal implants. This article introduces the reader to zirconia as an implant material, its properties, manufacturing processes, and the particular surface modifications and treatments that have rendered its surfaces biologically compatible with peri-implant soft and hard tissues.

Precious metals are of inestimable value to modern civilization. This article discusses the resources and consumption, trade practices, and special properties of precious metals and its alloys, including ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, osmium, iridium, platinum, and gold, and tabulates the industrial applications of precious metals. It provides information on the commercial forms (wire, rod, sheet, strip, ribbon, and foil) and uses of precious metals, including semifinished products, precious metal powders, industrial uses, coatings, and jewelry.

Biomaterials are the man-made metallic, ceramic, and polymeric materials used for intracorporeal applications in the human body. This article primarily focuses on metallic materials. It provides information on basic metallurgy, biocompatibility, chemistry, and the orthopedic and dental applications of metallic biomaterials. A table compares the mechanical properties of some common implant materials with those of bone. The article also provides information on coatings, ceramics, polymers, composites, cements, and adhesives, especially where they interact with metallic materials.

This article focuses on ceramics, glasses, glass-ceramics, and their derivatives, that is, inorganic-organic hybrids, in the forms of solid or porous bodies, oxide layers/coatings, and particles with sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers, or even millimetres. These include inert crystalline ceramics, porous ceramics, calcium phosphate ceramics, and bioactive glasses. The article discusses the compositions of ceramics and carbon-base implant materials, and examines their differences in processing and structure. It describes the chemical and microstructural basis for their differences in physical properties, and relates the properties and hard-tissue response to particular clinical applications. The article also provides information on the glass or glass-ceramic particles used in cancer treatments.

Additive manufacturing (AM), also referred to as three-dimensional printing or rapid prototyping, is a set of technologies that has rapidly evolved and has drawn much research attention in the manufacturing of high value-added products. This article focuses on dentistry, one of the fields in which AM has gained much traction. It discusses the AM processes used to produce dentures, crowns, and bridges. Digitization techniques, which are the first step and provide the CAD model for AM processes, are presented. Scanning technologies that are widely used in dental manufacturing are presented in detail, and the strengths and weaknesses of each process within their applications are discussed. AM processes are discussed in detail, and the materials that are widely used in AM-embedded dental manufacturing are briefly surveyed. The final section concludes with remarks and a preview of future research and practice directions.

Ceramics are used widely in a number of different clinical applications in the human body. This article provides a brief history of the bioceramics field and discusses the classification of bioceramics. These include bioinert ceramics, bioactive ceramics, and bioresorbable ceramics. The article describes third-generation bioceramics, classified by Hench and Polak, such as silicate-substituted hydroxyapatite and bone morphogenic protein-carrying calcium phosphate coatings. It reviews several examination methods used to test the biocompatibility of ceramics, namely, biosafety testing, biofunctionality testing, bioactivity testing, and bioresorbability testing.

Precious metals include gold, silver, and six platinum-group metals, namely, platinum, palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, osmium, and iridium. This article focuses on the consumption, trade practices, properties, product forms, and applications of these metals and their alloys.

This article describes dental alloy compositions and its properties. It discusses the safety and efficacy considerations of dental alloy devices. The article defines and compares interstitial fluid and oral fluid environments. Artificial solutions developed for the testing and evaluation of dental materials are summarized. The article examines the effects of restoration contact on electrochemical parameters and reviews the concentration cells developed by dental alloy-environment electrochemical reactions. The composition and characterization of biofilms, corrosion products, and other debris that deposit on dental material surfaces are discussed. The article evaluates the types of alloys available for dental applications, including direct filling alloys, crown and bridge alloys, partial denture alloys, porcelain fused to metal alloys, wrought wire alloys, soldering alloys, and implant alloys. The effects of composition and microstructure on the corrosion of each alloy group are also discussed. The article concludes with information on the tarnishing and corrosion behavior of these alloys.

Powder-bed fusion (PBF) is a group of additive manufacturing (AM) processes that includes selective laser sintering, selective laser melting, and electron beam melting. This article explains the processes and parameters of PBF systems that are used for biomedical applications. It also presents the desirable properties of biomedical devices and the advantages of using PBF systems for biomedical applications.

This article outlines the selection criteria for choosing an implant material for biomedical devices in orthopedic, dental, soft-tissue, and cardiovascular applications. It details the development of various implants, such as metallic, ceramic, and polymeric implants. The article discusses specific problems associated with implant manufacturing processes and the consequent compromises in the properties of functionally graded implants. It describes the manufacturing of the functionally-graded hip implant by using the LENS process. The article reviews four different types of tissue responses to the biomaterial. It discusses the testing methods of implant failure, such as in vitro and in vivo assessment of tissue compatibility.

Ceramic and glass manufacturers take environmental regulations into consideration during all stages of the product cycle, from research and development to purchasing, processing, end use, and disposal. Ceramic and glass products are finding application in the construction industry and as raw materials for other processes. This article describes the recycling of in-process scrap and industrial wastes (fly ash, red mud, metallurgical waste, and other waste products), and applications of these recycled products. It focuses on environmental regulations such as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act requires all states to meet minimum emissions standards for nitrogen-oxygen compounds, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide.

This article provides an overview of the types, properties, and applications of traditional and advanced ceramics and glasses. Principal product areas for traditional ceramics include whitewares, glazes, porcelain enamels, structural clay products, cements, and refractories. Advanced ceramics include electronic ceramics, optical ceramics, magnetic ceramics, and structural ceramics.

Tin is a soft, brilliant white, low-melting metal that is most widely known and characterized in the form of coating. This article discusses the primary and secondary production of tin and explains the uses of tin in coating, namely tinplating, electroplating, and hot dip coatings. It presents a short note on pure (unalloyed) tin and uses of tin in chemicals. The article also covers the compositions and uses of tin alloys which include solders, pewter, bearing alloys, alloys for organ pipes, and fusible alloys. It goes on to discuss the other alloys containing tin including battery grid alloys, type metals, copper alloys, dental alloys, cast irons, titanium alloys, and zirconium alloys. Finally, it presents a short note on the applications of tin powder and corrosion resistance of tin.

This article focuses on powder bed fusion (PBF) of ceramics, which has the potential to fabricate functional ceramic parts directly without any binders or post-sintering steps. It presents the results of three oxide ceramic materials, namely silica, zirconia, and alumina, processed using PBF techniques. The article discusses the challenges encountered during PBF of ceramics, including nonuniform ceramic powder layer deposition, laser and powder particle interactions, melting and consolidation mechanisms, optimization of process parameters, and presence of residual stresses in ceramics after processing. The applications of PBF ceramics are also discussed.

This article discusses the chemical composition, fabrication characteristics, applications, mechanical properties, mass characteristics, thermal properties, electrical properties, optical properties, and chemical properties of precious metals, namely, silver, gold, platinum, and palladium and their corresponding alloys.