Appreciate Your Teeth!
Teeth are living parts of our bodies that should be appreciated, but they are easily taken for granted — until a toothache comes along. Just like eyes, fingers, ears and other parts of your body, they are resilient and adaptive and able to perform amazing tasks. But we’re here to appreciate our teeth because we haven’t seen any fingers that can chew an almond as well as they can.
At the Alleman Center Dental Office, we practice biomimetic restorative dentistry because it helps your teeth remain resilient, adaptive and amazing, even if they’ve had a cavity or crack. Biomimetic dentistry is based on the principle that teeth are vital (living) complex parts of our body. In order to have a well-functioning tooth that stays alive, the biological and structural elements of a tooth must stay in balance. When these elements fall out of balance, like in instances of decay, cracks or traditional dental techniques, a tooth is at risk of dying.
For centuries, damaged teeth would need to be pulled because the tooth would otherwise die, leading to infections. Starting in the 20th century, the role of dentists was to hold off the death of the tooth as long as possible. This meant fillings, crowns, root canals and extractions. These practices that we call “traditional dentistry” delay the death of a tooth, but still result in symptoms and tooth death. That was the best available option at the time; now we can offer better patients better outcomes.
In the last 20 years, the biomimetic movement emerged as researchers, dental product manufacturers and practitioners worked together to perfect the art of restoring teeth to mimic a natural tooth (biomimetic = biomimicry = mimicking nature). Where traditional dentistry fails — preserving the biological structural and elements of a tooth necessary for long-term vitality — biomimetic dentistry succeeds. Biomimetic techniques take more training, skill, time and effort on the part of the dentist, but these are YOUR teeth. Do not leave the future of your mouth in the hands of a dentist using century-old techniques. Find a biomimetic dentist who appreciates your teeth and can help them maintain their natural resilience for a long, healthy life.
You might still have questions.
Why don’t more doctors use biomimetic dentistry? Short answer: Dental schools are still catching up, so a lot of dentists still don’t know it’s an option.
How do I know this is the best option for my teeth? Short answer: The research that has gone into biomimetic dentistry is immense but shows impressive results. Clinical data over the past 20 years has as well.
We’ll write about these topics and more in future blog posts, or we’re happy to talk about the work we do any time. Reach out at office@allemancenter.com or (801) 717-9860 any time, or ask Dr. Alleman at your next appointment.
