What is Biomimetic and Minimally Invasive Dentistry?
It's a philosophy of dentistry that centres on preserving and maximising the natural tooth remaining, when restoring teeth damaged by decay, wear or accident.
Why is This Important?
The natural tooth is stronger and more resilient than artificial materials, so it makes sense to add to what is left to 'strengthen' the restoration, rather than weaken it by over-preparation. In the past, dentistry was largely dominated by the 'passe' design, for materials of the past. Indeed, Dr Mike was taught that 'passe' way originally, but quickly moved to the Biomimetic and Minimally Invasive Dentistry philosophy as materials and techniques have evolved.
How do we practice Biomimetic and Minimally Invasive Dentistry?
To be Minimally Invasive you remove and shape the diseased or worn or broken parts of the tooth only to the extent just necessary to restore it.
To be Biomimetic, you structure restorations to mimic the physical and aesthetic properties of the natural tooth (structure) so that it looks and behaves (works) as close to the natural tooth as you can make it.
This is a paradigm shift away from the way many dentists have been practising - simply because they've adopted traditional training methods. Indeed, most are still trained the 'old' way but practising biomimetic minimally invasive dentistry is, we feel, the way forward right now and the future.
We practise this way as it gives patients quality and longevity in for their oral care.
To keep abreast of these areas both Dr Mike & Melanie are members of The New Zealand Institute of Minimal Intervention Dentistry (NZIMID).
Dr Mike is also a member of a global group, The Academy of Biomimetic Dentistry (ABD)