Biomimetic Dentistry Can Prevent Cavities and Even the Need for Root Canal Treatment

With continual advances in dental health care techniques, patients today are presented with more minimally-invasive procedures as alternative solutions to common dental problems. One modern, patient-oriented approach is called biomimetic dentistry, which refers to procedures that are designed to conserve a patient’s teeth, as well as mimic their original form, function, and aesthetics.

“Biomimetics, just the term itself, is basically studying the structure and function of a biological system, in this case a tooth, and using it as a model to design or engineer the materials that you would use to replace missing or diseased tooth structure,” says Dr. Robbi Wilson.

According to our cosmetic dentist, one of the ways he uses biomimetic dentistry is to treat teeth with large cavities and prevent root canals, when possible. After an infected tooth has been carefully cleaned, a very small amount of decay is then left in the tooth. “I know that sounds totally against what most people know,” he says. “But as long as we clean all the decay out around that most central and most deepest spot, we created this nice bit of healthy tooth structure that we can now bond to. With a layering technique and using some of our composites and porcelain restorations, we basically just seal the nerve.”

Biomimetic dentistry is considered beneficial for the patient not only in terms of cost, but also for the tooth’s overall health and longevity, notes Dr. Wilson. “Our whole concept in biomimetic dentistry when we’re fixing a tooth, is that we’re replacing each of those layers as we rebuild those layers back,” he says. “The whole goal is to make the tooth look like a tooth again, and not only look like a tooth, but to function and act like a tooth. That’s really the key difference.

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