265 Chapter 9 Emerging Polymers in Dentistry Thais Thomé, Maria C.G. Erhardt, Ariene A. Leme, Isra Al Bakri, Ana K. Bedran-Russo and Luiz E. Bertassoni © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 F. Puoci (ed.), Advanced Polymers in Medicine, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-12478-0_9 Abstract Polymers represent the foundation of modern restorative Dentistry. The majority of dental procedures currently utilized in clinical dentistry depend on the close interaction of polymeric materials with dental tissues. In fact, the den- tal matrix itself is largely constituted of natural polymers, such as collagen fibrils, that constitute the organic matrix of dentin, cementum and bone. In this chapter, several direct restorative materials will be described in light of their polymeric composition and dental application. Particular emphasis will be given to emerging restorative materials, such as new classes of dental adhesives and composite resins. Additionally, we discuss emerging classes of dental polymers, which have been recently utilized to infiltrate demineralized enamel and to assist remineralization of collagen fibrils in carious dentin. Keywords Resin composite · Dental adhesion · Bonding · Caries · Dentin · Dental polymer T. Thomé · M.C.G. Erhardt Department of Conservative Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS 90035-000, Brazil A.A. Leme · A.K. Bedran-Russo Department of Restorative Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA I. Al Bakri · L.E. Bertassoni (*) Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia e-mail: luiz.bertassoni@sydney.edu.au Thais Thomé, Maria C.G. Erhardt and Ariene A. Leme have contributed equally to this work.