This post looks at one of the miracles of modern science: restorative dentistry. At Marcos Ortega DDS in San Diego, we define this as restoring your teeth to a healthy, functional, pleasing condition.
Say you were a biomedical engineer working in dentistry before the advent 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 manufacture fillings, crowns, and dental bridges.
Consider the physical and chemical requirements of this incredible item. It must tolerate 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 impair 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 create 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 considered the cosmetic properties yet. Ideally, this extraordinary material would be indistinguishable from real-life 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. Nowadays, there are numerous 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.
Marcos Ortega DDS provides San Diego with restorative dentistry, including dental crowns, implants, and dentures. He also practices cosmetic and sedation dentistry.
Contact Marcos Ortega DDS:
619-295-4545
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
306 Walnut Ave Ste 25
San Diego, California
92103