At Clark Dental we provide a variety of preventive, restorative, and cosmetic dental treatments, as well as emergency services. Our highly qualified and experienced dentists take a lot of pride in providing comfortable, safe, and effective dentistry.
In fact, patients are often surprised to learn that Dr. Clark is considered a pioneer in modern dentistry, having developed many of the tools and procedures used in microdentistry (microscope-enhanced dentistry), an is the inventor of Bioclear, a vast improvement over dental composites and veneers you get at most dental offices. For this reason, many peopleespecially dentiststravel from around the world to get treated by Dr. Clark and his team.
Clark Dental believes that every single patient is important, and that less is more when it comes to your teeth and gums: well never push treatments that arent necessary, and well always present you with your full range of treatment options.
Traditional composite fillings and bonding resins are pastes that are layered onto your tooth. In order for the layers to adhere, dentists need to grind down to make space for the final restoration. These layers leave ridges that can be felt where the restoration meets the enamel. Moreover, when the filling or bonding eventually cracks, chips, or wears away, there is little structural integrity left of the original tooth.
Bioclear however is a more conservative methodas a process, it conserves more of your tooth structure. And while the Bioclear composites are indeed stronger and longer lasting than other materials, they wear like your natural teeth. In the event of an accident, most often a damaged Bioclear restoration can be repaired or replaced.
As for porcelain veneers, these are cosmetic layers placed over an imperfection in your teeth for an aesthetic effect. They can look good and can be quite strong, but these too can become stained, and the appearance is most pronounced at the edges where the original tooth enamel is visible. And veneers dont really fix the structure of your teeththeyre for cosmetic purposes only.
A better question is: which option, a crown or a Bioclear restoration, will allow me to keep my tooth the longest? The answer is the Bioclear restoration. Bioclear provides the best chance to keep your natural tooth for a lifetime.
Traditional crown preparations remove about 75% of the tooth. The Bioclear Method minimizes reduction of tooth structure and decreases the potential of future root canals or snap off fractures. As we age, crowned teeth often require extraction. Bioclear offers an innovative option to avert this outcome.
A Bioclear restoration wears like your natural tooth enamel. The Bioclear Clinic provides a 5-year warranty on restorations for chipping and staining. With routine dental care, we expect Bioclear restorations to last several years beyond standard insurance replacement recommendations.
Theoretically, yesbut its unlikely. Unlike traditional crowns, Bioclear leaves no gaps, so your tooth is shielded from decay. Crowns on the other hand have a glue that degrades over time, then decay can set in or the crown can fall out. Anyone whos experienced this knows how frightening and disruptive it can be.
Bioclear is an additive procedure. There is an adjustment period for some people when their teeth regain their youthful volume. Traditional methods of dentistry reduce your natural tooth structure to make space for the crown, veneer, or fillingthats not great, but it can make the result feel like your old tooth. A Bioclear restoration envelops the tooth. Your teeth may temporarily feel slightly thicker than before. That said, patients often remark that the teeth feel smoother and stronger with Bioclear. And theyll look fantastic.
Bioclear restorations are quite stain-resistant. Yet like your natural enamel, it can stainitll just do so in a way that looks like the rest of your teeth. Smoking or heavy consumption of black coffee (or dark juice) can permanently stain natural tooth enamel and Bioclear restorations. We recommend that you drink a cup of water and brush your teeth after consumption, or avoid these habits altogether. If you do get surface stains, they can typically be polished away during your routine dental cleaning.
Matrices arent new to dentistry, but the Bioclear Matrix is the only one designed to look like a real tooth, requiring less sanding and polishing, for a better patient experience and superior results.
The Bioclear Method can be learned by any dentist who is already skilled at restorationstheres even a Bioclear Learning Center in Tacoma, Washingtonand dentists can become certified in a range of specific applications. And it does require learning: the Bioclear Method is based as much on principles of structural engineering and state-of-the-art materials science as on traditional dental tools and techniques.
The Bioclear Method is gaining in popularity and is now being taught in several dental schools. Major changes in dentistry and medicine often take many years to reach all doctors. However, the patient-centered results speak for themselves. Bioclear is catching on around the world.