withstand the masticatory forces put upon the teeth. It is strong, ductile, can be cast accurately and not abrasive to opposing dentition. This property allows gold to be used in thinner cross sections, meaning less tooth tissue needs to be removed during tooth preparation compared to other restorative materials, to achieve the same strength. The tooth preparation needs near parallel wall and an absence of undercut, hence less occlusal and axial reduction. When the patient is not concerned with aesthetics, such as in posterior teeth, gold can provide the properties needed. Ceramic Ceramic materials began being used in restorative dentistry in the 1900s. Ceramic offers a more aesthetically pleasing restoration colour than previous gold and amalgam restorations. It is aesthetic and has high wear resistance. However, ceramic used as a restorative material without metal reinforcement have reduced strength and are more prone to failure. This is because conventional ceramics have a higher fracture risk and fractures can propagate easily under cyclical loading causing marginal ridge or bulk fracture. To compensate for this, ceramic is placed in a thicker cross-section of at least 2mm for stress bearing areas. This reduces flexure under loading and prevents crack formation. Ceramic can also be abrasive to opposing tooth surfaces upon mastication. More tapered walls are needed in tooth preparation. Undercuts can be eliminated by further tooth preparation or be blocked out with an adhesive tooth - coloured material. Composite Resin composite is widely used in dentistry as a direct and indirect restorative material. It comes in different compositions, variable in content and size of filler particles. Composite inlays and onlays offer great aesthetics, as a combination of different shades and opacities can be used in a layering technique, equalling or surpassing the aesthetically pleasing all-ceramic restoration. It can be easily repaired or modified as composite can bond to existing material. Using composite as a direct restoration can have a relatively high polymerisation shrinkage, but this can be avoided by using a laboratory indirect composite restoration. Due to the more in-depth curing method, using heat, pressure or strong light, this can have a lower polymerisation shrinkage. Lab made composite has reduction in polymerisation shrinkage as there is higher degree of curing in lab as compared to chair-side curing. However, fewer reactive resin groups are available to bong to the resin luting cement indicating lower accuracy in fitting compared to the other materials. However, using this