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Learn about the evolution of biomimetic restorative dentistry with Dr. David Alleman, creator of the Six Lessons Approach. Each episode Dr. Alleman will discuss dental research, developments in adhesive dentistry and practical steps dentists can implement in their work to see more predictable results. Learn more about Dr. David Alleman's work and teaching at allemancenter.com. Hosted by Dr. David Alleman. Produced by Hillary Alleman and Audrey Alessi.
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The wallpapering technique is a key protocol for extending the function of endodontically treated teeth. More brittle due to their reduced hydration, non-vital teeth are more prone to fracture, so using fiber in this way creates a fail-safe that prevents failure beneath the coronal portion of the tooth and reinfection of the root. Dr. David Alleman…
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Dr. David Alleman first created his Six Lessons Approach for vital teeth, but the same conservative principles can benefit endodontically treated teeth too. Compared to traditional techniques for retention and bonding, the advanced adhesive and stress-reducing techniques of biomimetic dentistry are better suited for treating non-vital teeth, which …
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Daily dentistry, the cases you see every day, usually involves minor occlusal adjustments that can be treated quickly and predictably using the Six Lessons Approach, but biomimetic techniques can benefit more advanced occlusal cases too. In this episode, Dr. David Alleman discusses the cause of abfractions, how complex temporaries are a thing of th…
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Biomimetic dentistry aims to mimic a natural tooth throughout the restorative process. The last four decades of research has shown that mimicking and conserving a tooth’s natural connection to itself, its natural bond and resilience to occlusal forces and its natural defense mechanisms for infection benefits the tooth’s long-term health. This is al…
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What is the best material for enamel replacement? It depends! When selecting the material of an onlay or overlay, understanding how a natural tooth functions during occlusion is essential if your goal is biomimetic dentistry. Harder is not better, but rather mimicking a natural tooth’s bond to itself and its modulus of elasticity will aid in select…
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Air abrasion functions as a conditioning step when bonding, which means it prepares the dentin or composite molecules for bonding. Dr. David Alleman discusses the progression of bonding systems for dentin adhesion and how this conditioning step evolved along with the bonding system molecules. The latest studies from researchers independent from the…
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Dr. David Alleman’s landmark paper written with Dr. Pascal Magne in 2012 gave practitioners predictable steps for deep caries, and now crack, treatment without exposing the pulp. But why is preventing pulp exposures so important? Dr. Alleman discusses research about the outcomes of pulp exposures and their effect on the tooth long-term in addition …
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Early diagnosis and treatment of dental pathologies allows for more conservative treatments while saving patients time and money. When developing the Six Lessons Approach to Biomimetic Dentistry, Dr. David Alleman created a risk assessment for determining if teeth were at risk of caries or cracks based on pathologies and treatment history. Drawing …
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Caries removal can be reproducible — this means consistent regardless of patient or practitioner. Caries detecting dye is essential to creating reproducible caries removal endpoints, but the techniques doctors pair with the dye are what prevent pulp exposure and maximize bond strength. When Dr. David Alleman pioneered his methods for determining ca…
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Each lesson in the Six Lessons Approach to Biomimetic Dentistry (SLA) is essential to restoring a tooth in a way that stays bonded and symptom-free. These two failings of traditional techniques — debonded restoration and post-operative sensitivity — are addressed in each lesson, but when it came to the bonding stage of the restoration, Dr. David Al…
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Cracks are the third most common dental pathology dentists treat, but treating them in a predictable way requires an understanding of principles from engineering, histology and immunology. How do cracks in teeth form? Why do cracks in teeth cause infection? How can we treat cracks predictably and prevent root canal therapy? In this episode Dr. Davi…
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Where do failures happen in dentistry? At the micron level. Bacteria create infections; micromovements initiate cracks; these are the root of failed restorations, infected pulps, and cracked teeth. Experiencing his own failures from traditional and early adhesive restorations, Dr. David Alleman discusses how thinking small led to significant advanc…
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Resin coating should always be included in the conversation with immediate dentin sealing, but it isn’t. Immediate dentin sealing can increase bond strengths by 400%, but resin coating functions at the opposite end of the adhesive equation by reducing polymerization stress to the hybrid layer. Dr. Alleman discusses materials used in resin coating —…
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Immediate dentin sealing is a commonly known technique even outside of advanced adhesive and biomimetic restorative dentistry. Originally developed in the 1990’s to solve the issue of temporization contamination, its uses once refined were immense when applied to dentin adhesion. Yet for doctors currenting using immediate dentin sealing as part of …
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Throughout dental school and into his early career, Dr. David Alleman had a tooth with an occlusal amalgam that experienced intermittent pain on biting. The tooth was examined, but no cause for the symptom was found. Years later, after thoroughly studying adhesive dentistry, Dr. Alleman understood that there must be a crack in the tooth. Having rec…
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In 2000, Graem Milicich and Tim Rainey published an article outlining how traditionally treated teeth were at greater risk to infections from cracks due to the increased stresses on the tooth. This includes peripheral rim fractures, which occur when restored teeth are not connected side to side like with amalgam or poorly bonded composite. These sm…
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In 1995 Dr. David Alleman wanted to quit dentistry. Frustrated with failing restorations and post-operative sensitivity, he couldn’t see how his work was helping his patients. A long-time friend and colleague encouraged him to take a course by Ray Bertolotti to learn about a new type of dentistry: adhesive dentistry. It was then that Dr. Alleman fi…
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Why aren’t all dentists performing deep margin elevations with composite? It might be because you’re listening to old research. “Violating the biologic width” was disproven in 2014. Gingival tissue doesn't have an adverse reaction to the material, it has an adverse reaction to the biofilm under a retention crown or poorly bonded restoration. If you…
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The tops of teeth don’t matter… as much as the bottoms. The key to any biomimetic restoration is the direct component, which is why I describe biomimetic dentistry as a bottom to top approach. When I first learned of Simone Deliperi’s work and we began working and then teaching together, we both understood how this direct component needed to be car…
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Early adhesive dentistry showed promise, but as Dr. David Alleman began implementing these new techniques into his practice, the success wasn’t immediate. Struggling with continued failures and wading through the sea of new bonding systems that were becoming available year after year, he sought to eliminate the guesswork and go to the source of wha…
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We are able to visualize how molecules move during polymerization thanks to the work of Carel L Davidson in the 1980s. Being able to visualize and then measure this movement, also known as flow, helps create more predictable bonds when working with different substrates in enamel, but Dr. David Alleman took years to systematize this concept into his…
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C-factor is more than the ratio of bonded to unbonded surfaces. Understanding C-factor, or Configuration Factor, is essential to understanding how composites behave in a tooth, but this topic was still being researched as manufacturers were trying to bond to dentin. Eventually, c-factor and its role in composite bonding showed the potential for a s…
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A long-lasting dental restoration comes down to molecules. Dr. David Alleman breaks down the research timeline of developing adhesives that can bond to dentin, and you don’t have to share his love of chemistry to appreciate how impactful that is to the field of dentistry. These adhesives were available to dentists as early as 1951, but just using a…
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Dr. David Alleman is known today as an innovator in the dental field, but it didn’t start that way. Dr. Alleman recalls his early interest in science, his journey as a dental student, experiences in his early career and how all of this led to him wanting to leave dentistry. Frustrated with sensitivity and failing restorations, he expectation that f…
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