What is Biocompatible Dentistry?  Environmentally friendly habits are important for everyone – from consumers to businesses. We understand how gentle, patient-friendly, and green dental care benefits all, but if you’ve never heard about these kinds of dental practices, you may wonder what the hype is all about.

Bio-friendly and eco-friendly dentistry is about all of the following for our patients and our community:

Comfort

Dental care should help you enjoy a smile that functions well and feels great. Dental restorations that irritate tissue or cause sensitivity work against our goals as dentists. We want our patients to enjoy the full benefits of effective treatment, which is where biocompatible dentistry plays an important part.

Dental materials and prosthetics that contain metal can create allergic responses for patients who have skin sensitivities like eczema. Metal-free restorative treatment using composite, porcelain, and other tooth-colored materials ensures prosthetics do not expand and contract, as this increases the risk of cracking and damaging healthy tooth structures.

Aesthetics

Not only do natural-looking dental treatments feel better in your smile, they also look more like your own teeth. Metal-based restorations may look realistic when first applied, but they tend to age poorly, revealing a black line at the edge of the gums. This is especially true for crowns and can be particularly problematic when these restorations are used in the visible parts of your smile.

It’s true that metal does hold up well to bite pressure, but advancements in prosthetics have created completely tooth-colored restorations that are both durable and seamless.

Safety and Sanitization

Your metal fillings and crowns contain trace elements of mercury. While that’s not to say having metal amalgam dental work automatically creates health concerns – many practices still use and stand by these restorations – we take every opportunity we can to ensure your safety. At our practice, this means eliminating the use of prosthetics that contain mercury and being careful when removing these restorations to replace them with biocompatible versions.

Our amalgam separators and dental dams allow our dentists and team to safely remove old fillings and crowns and dispose of them. We also take care to safeguard our patients against dental infection when they visit our office by using a suction system that quickly whisks away debris and bacteria after it’s been removed by our hygiene team.

Making the choice to select only the highest standard in dental care is part of what helps our team deliver excellent results. If you have questions about green dental care, contact our office for more information.