Wilmer Souder Award

¹ University of Oregon Dental School, Portland, Oregon

Many changes have taken place in the philosophic approach to research in the field of dental materials. In particular, there have been two significant trends: (1) greater depth in the understanding of material's behavior; and (2) greater appreciation for the biologic environment into which materials are placed. These trends have generated problems which would challenge even the least curious.

Some of the specific challenges that exist can be related to the current status of restorative materials. These materials are all nonadhesive to tooth structure, suffer from marginal leakage and exhibit fracture. In addition, certain materials undergo surface disintegration whereas others abrade readily.

In order to make existing materials more serviceable in the oral environment, and to discover and evaluate new and better materials, a number of recognizable problems must be solved. First, we need to know more about the chemical and physical nature of the oral environment; second, we need to know how materials behave in this environment; third, we need laboratory tests which will validly predict this behavior; and fourth, we need to know more about the basic nature of the materials themselves.

Although progress toward a solution of these problems is being made, this progress needs to be accelerated. Such acceleration will depend on the number of research persons available to this field, and one finds a deficiency in this regard. An increase in the number of persons educated in the physical science areas is needed to meet present and future needs. Hopefully, some measures can be instituted to correct this deficiency.