Shawn O'Berry DDS
The Answer
Fillings and Crowns No More?
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For years, dentistry has placed restorations into two main categories:
Fillings and crowns.
Small problem? Place a filling.
Big problem? Cut the tooth down and place a crown.
But a tooth does not know what its repair is called.
It only knows how much natural structure remains, how well the repair is bonded, and what happens when you bite on it.
Biomimetic dentistry begins with a different question: “How can we repair this tooth while preserving as much of it as possible?”
What Does Biomimetic Mean?
Biomimetic means to imitate life.
A biomimetic restoration is designed to look, feel, and function more like a natural tooth.
It can be big or small.
It can be placed directly in the mouth or made outside the mouth and bonded into place.
What we call the procedure is not important.
What matters is how the restoration and the tooth work together.
The Tooth Determines the Restoration
Traditional crowns require the tooth to be cut into a specific shape.
Healthy tooth structure may have to be removed simply to make room for the crown.
Biomimetic dentistry thinks different.
Instead of cutting the tooth to fit the restoration, the restoration is designed to fit the tooth.
Only the damaged or weakened portion needs to be replaced.
A larger repair does not automatically mean the entire tooth must be cut down.
Control the Stress
Teeth are exposed to pressure every time we bite.
They also flex or bend slightly.
If a restoration is too rigid, poorly shaped, or not properly bonded, those forces can cause the repair to separate or the tooth to crack.
Biomimetic dentistry controls these stresses before they create another failure.
Maximize the Bond
Traditional fillings and crowns often depend on the shape of the tooth to hold them in place.
That is one reason healthy tooth structure gets removed.
Biomimetic restorations rely more heavily on bonding.
A strong bond helps connect the restoration to the remaining tooth so they can function together.
Protect the Tooth
Natural tooth structure is something we can never replace.
Once it is drilled away, it is gone.
The goal is to remove what is damaged, preserve what is healthy, and strengthen what remains.
The more tooth we save today, the more tooth we still have tomorrow.
Act Like a Tooth
A successful restoration should do more than look like a tooth.
It should act like one.
It should bend with the tooth.
Distribute chewing forces.
Stay connected to the tooth.
And protect the natural structure that remains.
This is what separates a biomimetic restoration from one that is simply tooth-colored.
The materials may look similar.
The thinking, design, and process are very different.
Traditional dentistry asks: “Does this tooth need a filling or a crown?”
Biomimetic dentistry asks: “What does this tooth need to stay strong?”
Control the stress.
Maximize the bond.
Protect the tooth.
Make the restoration act like a tooth.
That is how we begin to interrupt the Tooth Cycle of Death.