A new phrase has reached consumers ears, biomimetic dentistry. Alongside this new phrase have come claims of saving teeth and possibly avoiding crowns and root canals. This sounds wonderful but is it realistic? This article explores some of the basic issues surrounding this emerging field within oral health.
According to BioMed Central’s Journal of Oral Health, biomimetic dentistry is “the art and science of repairing damaged teeth with restorations that imitate the living tissues (e.g., enamel, dentin, bone, cementum, etc.) in terms of appearance, function, and strength.”1 When compared to traditional dental practices, biomimetic dentistry has a greater emphasis on less invasive treatment to restore teeth and avoid root canals, crowns, and implants if possible. “Less invasive” in this context can mean preserving more tooth material than is the case, for example, for a crown where significant tooth material is removed and replaced by an artificial tooth. The Academy of Biomimetic Dentistry, a dental industry group promoting the field, claims, “The traditional dental restoration process involves fillings, root canal procedures, and dental crowns. However, all of these processes carry a risk of further damaging healthy tooth structure. This is not the case with biomimetic dentistry. Restorations are done in a way that teeth will be stronger because biomimetics utilize your remaining natural tooth structure to the fullest capacity.”2
While biomimetic dentistry can have aesthetic benefits, it is distinct from cosmetic dentistry. Cosmetic dentistry is the field of dentistry focusing on the attractiveness of both teeth and mouth. Biomimetics, on the other hand, is focused on oral health and the maintenance of a mouth’s proper function.
Some critics claim that biomimetic dentistry is just a rebranding of normal dental care approaches such as “conservative dentistry.” Proponents point toward a greater precision on how much tooth material is removed during a filling, for example, and its work pertaining to bonding.
The central value proposition associated with biomimetic dentistry is the preservation of the maximum amount of natural dental material (e.g. tooth enamel, root, etc.) in dental care and the possibility of avoiding dental procedures like implants and crowns that may eventually fail and need replacement. Implants, in particular, can be very expensive (up to $6,000 per tooth) and may fail or have problems over time.
Consumers have a variety of ways to find a dentist using this biomimetics. Aside from online searches like “biomimetic dentist near me”, they can also find providers through the following dentist search tools:
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The cost of these services varies by treatment as well as the dentist providing them. Some online sources such as RoyalImplant.com, LA Dental Clinic, and the Alleman Center of Biomimetic Dentistry suggest the care may be more costly than traditional dental work (at least initially). The Academy of Biomimetic Dentistry, in contrast, claims that cost for biomimetic care is comparable to that of traditional dentistry and, in addition, has lower long-term expense.3
Most dental insurance plans do not have a special benefit to cover biomimetic dentistry. As a consequence, several factors will determine whether your insurance plan will cover biomimetic services and, if it does, how much it will contribute toward cost. The most important of these factors are:
Lamia Singer, Ahmed Fouda, Christoph Bourauel, "Biomimetic approaches and materials in restorative and regenerative dentistry: review article," BMC Oral Health, February 16, 2023, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9936671/
Academy of Biomimetic Dentistry, "FAQs about Biomietic Dentistry," June 11, 2019, https://www.aobmd.org/faqs-about-biomimetic-dentistry/
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