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I came across a very insightful podcast from Simon Sinek recently which spoke about the difference between health vs fitness. His guest, Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, spoke about the difference between these terms in the mental context and naturally my dentist brain jumped straight to drawing parallels around dental health vs dental fitness.
Caring for our teeth, gums and jaws needs to be seen as a marathon not a sprint. We have one set of adult teeth which are supposed to last us over 80 years so achieving optimal dental health, whilst an aspirational goal, will always require ongoing effort and care in an ever-changing environment.
Aiming for dental fitness rather than dental health may be a kinder and more empowering perspective since fitness implies an on-going practise rather than more static states of either healthy or not healthy.
Dr. Liang Liang
Dental resin is an advanced plastic material engineered to bond very well to tooth structure and ‘fill’ up minor defects. It’s not as strong as natural tooth structure and as a plastic will scratch, discolour and degrade over time (much like a plastic Tupperware container). Used in appropriate settings, resin restorations have a lifespan of 5-12 years.
+ cheaper than ceramic alternatives
+ most conservative (resin can be moulded to whatever shape we want meaning we get drill less and save more of your tooth structure)
+ for minor aesthetic improvements, we can often make big improvements with minimum intervention
– very technique sensitive – bonding and placement protocols MUST be followed strictly otherwise quality of the restoration is drastically reduced
– isn’t as strong as tooth structure so doesn’t wear well under situations where high strength/support is needed
– surface roughens easily leading to more plaque build up and thus higher risk of re-decay
