A paradigm shift has taken place in my thinking. The ability to bond teeth with minimally invasive adhesive dentistry has totally changed the way that I think about restoring teeth.
The term Biomimetic means to “copy life like.” Nature has given us the perfect model to replicate. The natural tooth is the perfect reference for our restorative dentistry. Biomimetic dentistry seeks to copy nature in respect to biology, function, esthetics and mechanics.
A healthy mouth encompasses just 3 principles. They are:
- No inflammation in the system – bone, gums, teeth, body.
- All teeth are sealed. – no cracks, decay, structural compromises that lead to failure.
- Bites should be perfectly balanced and teeth separated at night.
Copying nature (biomimetic) means that we remove cracks in teeth and seal them by protecting the inner layers of the tooth with materials that act exactly like the tooth itself. When this happens, teeth are not sensitive, don’t require root canals and often times crowns are avoided. These techniques and principles are effective enough that they will last as long as you have the tooth.
Traditional dentistry requires that solid tooth be removed to accommodate the restorations. These restorations are the equivalent of digging a hole and filling it back up with something. It manages disease. Biomimetic dentistry addresses these shortcomings based on 50+ years of scientific investigationand provides profound results based on the study of nature. This is true health dentistry.
In the traditional dentistry model, “dental insurance” provides for managing the disease. When this happens, the progression goes like this:
A little decay has a silver mercury filling. Because it doesn’t seal anything or decrease stress in the tooth, a small crack forms. Continued biting pressure allows decay to form in the crack from the inside out. A larger filling is placed and crack continues to widen. Now all of the enamel is stripped off for a crown to be prepared. Once placed, the crack will continue, the tooth becomes sensitive to cold, and a root canal completed. 10 years out, the tooth is lost and an implant placed. Over the course of 20 years or so, more than $5000 is spent on one tooth!
Had the tooth been restored following Biomimetic principles and techniques from the beginning, once the crack was visualized at the start, it would be sealed and a restoration placed to mimic nature. The total spent over the lifetime of the tooth would maybe approach $1500.
Biomimetic adhesive dentistry is truly the conservative, minimally invasive dentistry. This approach makes it possible for people to have as little dentistry as possible over their lifetimes.
