Dental restorative composites having self-healing capabilities to repairdiscontinuities in the composite are provided. Dental restorative compositesaccording to the present invention include a microsphere that encapsulatesa monomer. When a fracture occurs, the microsphere is ruptured and the monomerfills the fracture. Depending on the monomer present in the microsphere, it ispolymerized by a polymerization initiator or by an olefin metathesis catalystpresent in the dental restorative composite. Self-healing dental restorativecomposites provide increased resistance to fracturing, and thus remain substantiallyintact for a longer period of time, preserving the remedial integrity of the dentalrepair or reconstruction.
