Is your Dentistry Restorative or Repairative?

Like a lot of terms in Dentistry the word “restorative” gets tossed around a lot. Often Dentists will use it in an attempt to differentiate themselves without a clear understanding of its meaning. As a consumer, your understanding of the true meaning of what constitutes a “Restorative Dentist” vs. a “Repairative Dentist” can insure you are getting the type of care you desire.

The fundamental principle that describes a Restorative Dentist is a practitioner who thoroughly analyzes a person’s oral health, works in partnership with the patient to define a particular outcome and can provide the care, skill and knowledge necessary to plan and restore the patient to a higher level of health.

Now even though that’s a painfully long definition, let’s break it.... ...down through a common procedure that can help you understand if you are really getting the option of “restorative” care.

The importance of thorough analysis – Let’s look at a common scenario:

A dentist tells you a tooth “needs a crown (restoration)”. A repairative dentist looks at fixing what is broken. He or she may something like “it’s cracked, chipped or the filling has failed and another just won’t work”. This explanation makes reasonable sense, a fee is quoted and you are scheduled for your next appointment to prepare the tooth for a crown. A restorative dentist looks at this same tooth and not only at what is broken or failing but more importantly, why?

While all of what the repairative dentist told you was likely true, the restorative dentist is typically “cursed” with a curiosity, a greater need to know why? In this scenario the restorative dentist would likely look at crack and fracture patterns and wonder about how the forces are placed on the teeth, if muscles overworked to increase that force, why filling material failed, the stability of the gum tissue and bone and the degree of wear. This thought process would likely require a more thorough analysis so that the process of restoring the tooth would address all the causative factors so that we’re not only covering the tooth but enhancing the health of the entire mouth. Every component is an important part of an entire system and cannot be looked at in isolation.

In fact, of all the elements of Restorative Care, thorough analysis is key. Without this, nothing else is possible. Restorative dentists understand that you can only treat what you see and you only see what you know. Because of this, Restorative Dentists likely have a higher standard of learning and a commitment to constant and continuing improvement, often far exceeding the continuing education accomplished by their peers. Subsequently they are often teachers and educators of other dentists.

In addition to this commitment and a broader health-centered view, a Restorative Dentist also understands and honors the value of having a true relationship with his/her patients. Only by taking the necessary time to establish trust, understand the patient and their life circumstances, their objectives and their personality or temperament can they work in a collaborative partnership to help develop the appropriate plan for the patient. A restorative approach may also be repairative, and sometimes the repair is all the patient can do or desires to do. With a thorough analysis at least they know what more is possible to choose from and with a plan, the repair can be done in such a way that it enhances the future treatment vs being counter –productive.

Whether you choose a repairative approach or a restorative approach is up to you. Just remember that a restorative approach more often allows you to be an active partner in your care and can help you to achieve results that are often far more long lasting, functional and esthetic. Often the durability of restorative care is a significant multiple of repairative care, and can be predictably achieved and highly cost effective if both the doctor and patient are committed to doing their part to insure success.

Let us know what topics you’d like to now more about and we’ll try to write about them.

Until then, always strive to know more about your Oral Health!

Jim Otten DDS