Today’s message looks at one of the miracles of modern dentistry: dental restoration. Future of Dentistry specializes in restoration throughout Greater Boston and Merrimack Valley.
Let’s pretend you are a biomedical engineer working in the field of dentistry before the discovery of dental restorations. The men and women of your generation who have missing or damaged teeth want to repair or replace them with a man-made substitute. You have been hired to find or create a material that can be used to engineer fillings, crowns, and dental bridges.
Consider the several physical and chemical requirements of this incredible material. It must withstand forces of 162 pounds per square inch (PSI), hundreds of times a day–day after day, year after year. It must be resistant to cracking and chipping. But there’s a catch regarding its durability; it must not damage the enamel on opposing teeth. This material must also maintain its size and shape and be resistant to shrinking.
It must be bondable to living tooth structure as well as other materials needed for specific appliances. It must be biocompatible with the soft tissues in the mouth as well as tooth enamel, dentin, and bone. It can’t generate allergic reactions in the wearers. It must be corrosion-resistant to the chemicals in saliva, foods, and beverages. It must resist infection regardless of ever-present bacteria in the mouth. And it can’t contain toxic chemicals that could be absorbed into the bloodstream.
And we haven’t even discussed the aesthetics yet. Ideally, this extraordinary material would be indistinguishable from genuine teeth in color, opacity, and translucence.
Of course, we know that such a substance exists because dental restorations have been around for a long time. Currently, there are many materials used alone or in combination including porcelain, ceramic, and metals such as gold and silver amalgam. Though the metals are very strong and malleable, they don’t meet some patient’s esthetic requirements and are used mainly for back teeth.
It is interesting to note that porcelain, one of the perfect materials used in modern restorations, was invented over 2000 years ago in China.
I wonder if the ancient Chinese porcelain inventors who developed the techniques for molding, firing, and painting the beautiful tableware and vases prized around the world ever imagined that their invention would live beautifully in the mouths of millions of men and women more than twenty centuries later!
Future of Dentistry offers implants, family, general, and cosmetic dentistry. For more information, call Future of Dentistry today. Impacting lives one smile at a time.
Contact Future of Dentistry:
Locations (Tap Below To Open Your Office In Google Maps):
Future of Dentistry – Billerica
668 Boston Rd
Billerica, MA 01821
978-663-4303Future of Dentistry – Dracut
149 Pleasant St
Dracut, MA 01826
978-957-1811Future of Dentistry – North Andover/Willows Dental Group
795 Turnpike St
North Andover, MA 01845
978-685-8313Future of Dentistry – Wakefield
968 Main St
Wakefield, MA 01880
781-245-2299Future of Dentistry – Chelmsford
3 Courthouse Ln
Chelmsford, MA 01824
978-970-2089
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