Deep margin elevation is a technique that allows subgingival defects in a tooth to be restored without crown lengthening surgery. Saving patients healing time and higher treatment costs, deep margin elevations can be performed as part of a restoration appointment and can benefit overall oral health compared to traditional recommendations for treating subgingival areas of the tooth. What is deep margin elevation? Deep margin elevation replaces deep dentin where it has been removed to treat deep caries or cracks. If you can isolate a tooth, you can raise the margin. At the Alleman Center, we tea ..read more

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to love going to work again? Biomimetic restorative dentistry can help. Dentistry is challenging work, but many dentists are drawn to the field because of an interest in helping others. So when a dentist is practicing exactly as they are taught in dental school but still seeing failing restorations, teeth that remain symptomatic and their own cases needing endodontic treatment, that can leave you feeling disheartened. If you’re feeling frustrated or stuck with your current treatment methods, biomimetic restorative dentistry can help. Save pulps While in so ..read more

Have you ever cut a tooth down for a crown and felt that removing that much tooth structure is wrong? You’re not alone. Many dentists (and patients) are looking to conservative dental practices with the goal of preserving their healthy tooth structure. But when doctors are faced with delaminations and sensitive restorations, it can be difficult to move away from retention form. What is conservative dentistry? Conservative dentistry focuses on conserving healthy, essential tooth structure. Rather than the cookie cutter approach to traditional filling and crown preparations, a conservative appro ..read more

Seeing dental photography online may give the impression that the goal is sharing a beautiful photo and that unless you want to invest in a DSLR camera, lighting and editing software, it isn’t a hobby worth exploring. While many dentists get great satisfaction from a beautiful photo of a restoration — Alleman Center doctors included! — we recommend that every dentist should be taking photos of their work. This is because we see dental photography as a tool for better dentistry. Dental photography as a tool: Patient Education Many patients do not understand what different treatments entail and ..read more

Many students are drawn to the field of dentistry because of how it combines science, art and helping patients. Honing your skills in both the scientific and artistic elements of dentistry can greatly contribute to professional satisfaction, and your work in these areas can set you apart as a practitioner. Art in dentistry is inspired by natural teeth, so, naturally, biomimetic dentistry offers a scientific foundation for the artistic aspects. Science is objective. Art is subjective. Dentists should know how best to use both. Art: What should be subjective in dentistry Prep design Doctors have ..read more

Many dentists execute everything they were trained to do perfectly and still experience failing restorations. Why? Traditional techniques do not address these key problems: Decay left in the Peripheral Seal Zone (PSZ) The PSZ is the 2 mm of dentin inside the Dentin Enamel Junction (DEJ). When decay is left in this area, you lose bond strength in your restoration. In a 1985 study, (Anderson H, et al. A comparison of digital and optical criteria for detecting carious dentin. J Prosthet Dent. 1985) 60% of clinicians left decay behind when they deemed a preparation caries-free based on a tactile a ..read more

Dr. David Alleman, DDS is one of the founding leaders in biomimetic restorative dentistry, but when he was first introduced to adhesive principles by Dr. Ray Bertolotti in 1995, he had already quit practicing dentistry. “For six months I wasn’t a dentist,” recalls Dr. Alleman. “For six months I studied history and looked into university programs so I could teach history as my new career.” So when Dr. Alleman attended a two-day course by Dr. Ray Bertolotti in adhesive dentistry, he was giving dentistry one more chance to show him that it could help his patients rather than just create more prob ..read more

Despite having a scientific foundation from research that is four decades old, biomimetic dentistry, also known as biomimetic restorative dentistry, may seem new to many doctors and patients. So the question will arise, “Is biomimetic dentistry worth it?” This is a decision every doctor and patient should make for themself, so let’s explore some sides to this question. Is it time for the dental industry to try something “new”? Traditional dentistry today looks similar to the dentistry performed 100 years ago. Yes, we can x-ray teeth and offer anesthesia, but the same mechanical retention filli ..read more

When it comes to crack diagnosis and treatment, cracks are often overlooked without proper magnification during routine check-ups. Pain on biting is often treated by trying to stabilize the fracture with a crown or try to bond over and infiltrate the crack. These treatments have varied success with some teeth proceeding to root canal or extraction.  “Next time you have a patient who is an engineer, ask them how they treat cracks. Their answer might surprise you.” That is Dr. Davey Alleman’s recommendation for doctors who want better options for crack diagnosis and treatment. In the Six ..read more

Like many dentists, Alleman Center mentor Dr. Dafina Doberdoli was drawn to the field from her interest in science, medicine and helping others. Inspired by her aunt who is also a dentist, she thought of dentistry as a possible career for herself. “I saw that not many women were dentists in my country. Seeing her work, I thought I could do that too.” Dr. Doberdoli is from Kosovo where she graduated from the University of Prishtina Dental School in 2010. After practicing for a year she completed a pediatric residency at the University Dentistry Clinical Center of Kosovo. She earned a Master’s i ..read more