This book is an evidence-based update on recent most significant advances in dental ceramics, specifically related to the relationships between composition, microstructure and mechanical behavior. Readers will find an introduction to the chemistry of dental ceramics as well as information about the technological progress and practical requirements restorative materials need to satisfy for long-lasting structural integrity. The book uses mechanistic approaches to address failure mechanisms from controlled experiments thus providing the tools for the application of sound research methodologies in the field. It is targeted for researcher and dentists interested in the field of dental ceramic materials and fracture mechanics.

Ulrich Lohbauer received his Diploma in Materials Science and Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) at the Technical Faculty, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in 1998. He obtained his interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree (Dr.-Ing.) in Dental Materials Science in March 2003. Between 2003 and 2006, he was visiting scientist at Imperial College, London and Athens University. In 2007, he further graduated as Professor in Dental Materials (Habilitation) at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He became a Fellow (FADM) and Board member of the Academy of Dental Materials in 2009. His research interests are into long-term behavior and lifetime assessment of resin composites and ceramics in a clinical context as well as mechanical and physical performance of dental restoratives and clinical fractography. He is founder and president of the Fracto Forum International (www.fractography.org). Ulrich Lohbauer is current president of the Academy of Dental Materials (2020-2022). He published more than 180 peer-reviewed manuscripts and holds an h-index of 44.

Renan Belli graduated in 2005 in Dental Medicine (DDS) from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. He received a Master of Science  (MSc) and a PhD titles from the same university in 2007 and 2011, respectively, both with research focus on dental materials. During his PhD, he spent 2 years at the Laboratory for Dental Biomaterials Research in the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, where he went to become an associate scientist in 2012, a position he holds currently. In 2015 he obtained his Promotion (DMD) and in 2019 his Habilitation (Priv.-Doz.) from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. His scientific interests involve areas related to mechanics of materials, especially fracture mechanisms and testing methodologies spanning from quasi-brittle to plastic behavior for application in natural tooth tissues and artificial restoratives. He has published over 80 indexed publications in scientific journals and several book chapters.