Abstract
Dental restorative composites having self-healing capabilities to repair discontinuities in the composite are provided. Dental restorative composites according to the present invention include a microsphere that encapsulates a monomer. When a fracture occurs, the microsphere is ruptured and the monomer fills the fracture. Depending on the monomer present in the microsphere, it is polymerized by a polymerization initiator or by an olefin metathesis catalyst present in the dental restorative composite. Self-healing dental restorative composites provide increased resistance to fracturing, and thus remain substantially intact for a longer period of time, preserving the remedial integrity of the dental repair or reconstruction.