Biocompatible Materials in Dentistry (Video)

Hi, this is Dr. Nammy, and today I wanted to speak to you about biocompatible materials. So what does biocompatibility mean? Biocompatible materials means that they are the most natural or most lifelike, meaning bio. So for example, an example we would use in dentistry is going to be crowns. We use biocompatible materials. Typically, crowns have a metal substructure to it. Now, we don’t like the metal because it causes an oxide reaction. So an oxide reaction is an allergic reaction your body creates to metal. Hence, we like using a biocompatible material like milled porcelain.

The reason we like biocompatible material is because they do not irritate the body or cause an allergic reaction, and that is critical to having materials in your mouth. Think about having maybe…let’s say an average person has two to three crowns. So if you have two to three crowns that are going to cause an allergic reaction for the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years, it would be really overwhelming for your body.

And also your body doesn’t need to spend energy on fighting the material, right? I would rather have my body focus on fighting cancer, heart attack, diabetes, or anything of that nature, versus having an allergic reaction to a metal that is in my mouth. So, next time you go to the dentist, it’s going to be very critical that you are looking at biocompatible materials — materials that are inert, do not cause an oxide reaction or do not have any cancer-causing agents. Those are really things that you want to be looking for. If you have additional questions, please reach out to us. We’d love to see you, and I hope you have a fantastic day.