HYDROGELS IN CONSERVATIVE DENTISTRY & ENDODONTICS

The overarching philosophy of modern dental medicine has fundamentally shifted toward minimally invasive dentistry, defined as a systematic respect for maintaining original tissue, which is vital for a patient's masticatory function, aesthetics, and overall quality of life. At the center of this paradigm is the dentine-pulp complex-a highly specialized, unique connective tissue consisting of a hard outer dentine shell and a central dental pulp that provides essential nutrition, innervation, and a robust defense system. This complex is uniquely capable of executing a coordinated defensive response against microbial, mechanical, or traumatic insults via a combination of controlled inflammation and the promotion of reparative mineralization to preserve itself. Historically, when deep carious lesions, fractures, or leaking restoration margins breached this system, progressive bacterial invasion would overwhelm the pulpal defenses, leading to irreversible pulpitis, necrobiosis, and total root canal system infection. In these scenarios, conventional root canal treatment (RCT) was long considered the exclusive therapeutic option to eliminate infection and retain the restorable tooth.