Smart dental materials refer to materials used in dentistry with additional functionality to enhance treatment outcomes, which may improve oral health. Smart materials for dental restorations can react to stimuli such as a specific temperature, a different pH, or mechanical stress, repair small cracks or damage by themselves, and interact beneficially with biological surroundings. For example, they might release ions and promote tooth remineralization or have antibacterial properties to prevent bacterial growth. Others can have enhanced mechanical properties like strength and wear resistance to ensure these materials can withstand daily masticatory forces. This review presents our current comprehension of smart dental materials designed for tooth restoration. We focused on what these materials need to be effective, like durability, biocompatibility, and aesthetic requests, besides identifying new ideas for their design. A detailed analysis of the current challenges in formulating these materials, such as the balance between enough ions released with proper physicochemical properties and achieving the desired biological response, was discussed. We also discussed how these cutting-edge technologies are leveraged to overcome existing limitations, creating more dental materials with potential clinical translation. The review also discusses the practical challenges in implementation and the prospects for these materials in dentistry.

Biomimetics in dental restorative materials has gradually shifted from simply copying the appearance of natural teeth to better understanding how those tissues actually behave. Instead of focusing only on aesthetics, there is now more attention on how enamel and dentin function in real conditions, how they respond to stress, interact with their surroundings, and change over time. Because of this, newer materials are no longer just passive fillers; they are being designed to reflect aspects of natural tooth structure, composition, and behavior within the oral environment. This review brings together key ideas in this area, recent developments, and the challenges that remain. One issue that often comes up is how terms like bioinspired, biomimetic, and bioactive are used. They are sometimes treated as if they mean the same thing, but in practice, they point to different goals or levels of complexity in material design. For instance, some studies focus on creating more organized composite structures or mimicking natural mineralization processes, while others focus on antibacterial surfaces or peptide-based approaches that may support remineralization. There is also growing interest in materials that respond to environmental changes, such as shifts in pH or the early stages of wear. Even with promising laboratory results, these materials are not yet widely used in everyday clinical practice. Several issues continue to slow their adoption, including unclear terminology, limited availability of testing models that reflect real oral conditions, and a lack of long-term clinical data. Part of the challenge lies in the lack of consistent terminology, which can make it harder to compare findings across studies. Manufacturing challenges also remain, particularly when scaling up more complex systems. Moving forward, progress will depend on closer collaboration across disciplines, including materials science, oral biology, microbiology, and digital manufacturing. Such efforts will be important for developing restorative materials that behave more like natural tissues and perform reliably over time inside the mouth.

Smart Dental Materials refer to materials used in dentistry with additional functionality to enhance treatment outcomes, which may improve oral health. Smart materials for dental restorations can react to stimuli such as a specific temperature, a different pH, or mechanical stress, repair small cracks or damage by themselves, and interact beneficially with biological surroundings. For example, they might release ions and promote tooth remineralization or have antibacterial properties to prevent bacterial growth. Others can have enhanced mechanical properties like strength and wear resistance to ensure these materials can withstand the daily masticatory forces. This review presents our current comprehension of smart dental materials designed for tooth restoration. We focused on what these materials need to be effective, like durability, biocompatibility, and aesthetic requests, besides identifying new ideas for their design. A detailed analysis of the current challenges faced in formulating these materials, such as the balance between enough ions released with proper physicochemical properties and achieving the desired biological response, was discussed. We also discussed how these cutting-edge technologies are being leveraged to overcome existing limitations, creating more dental materials with potential clinical translation. The review also discusses the practical challenges in implementation and the prospects for these materials in dentistry.