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18 | CERECDOCTORS.COM | QUARTER 4 | 2014
extremely beautiful and refined art of dental porcelain
with the conservative approach allowed by adhesive
composite resins. Itwas like analmost perfect synergy!
Nobody had taught me this. Suddenly, we felt like this
existing technique called porcelain laminate veneers
wasonlythetipoftheiceberg.Itwasonlyaverylimited
application of principles that were to be extended to
new territories such as severely worn, broken down,
fractured or eroded teeth. In other words, going
from a purely cosmetic elective treatment to a socio-
economic alternative to post and crowns!
Today, I have no other words other than “biomi-
metic approach” to describe the possibilities that were
“hidden” from us by traditional retention and resis-
tance form principles. I can comfortably say, more
than20 years later, that the concept is robust andkeeps
growing and developing with revolutionary concepts
such as the bilaminar approach (lingual and labial
veneers), ultrathin occlusal veneers, the additive luting
technique, the deepmargin elevation technique, etc.
The biomimetic movement gave birth to different
think tanks (such as the famous Bio-Emulation group
in Europe), and even an Academy in the United States
(ABD or Academy of Biomimetic Dentistry), which
proves the general interest in these techniques. What
also greatly encourages me is to see the enthusiasm of
the young graduates who embark on careers of inde-
pendent practitioners while adopting the biomimetic
concept successfully. It is important that this type of
dentistry is teachable, practicable and economically
viable. I believe that the test of time has proven it but
there are still plenty of doubters, perhaps evenmore in
theUnited States and in academia, and still lot of work
to make sure that minimally invasive techniques are
taught globally and recognized by social insurance.
WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCEWITH IN-OFFICE CAD/CAM?
It is interesting how CAD/CAM came into the
picture during those same years when the “bio-
mimetic” lightning struck me. We were involved
in Geneva in teaching the first CEREC course in
French in 1991 (Fig. 1). The limitations were huge,
but the phenomenon had started and could not be
stopped. My relationship to CAD/CAM went cold
because of those limitations, but my enthusiasm
came back when graphic interfaces and milling
technology became truly 3-D.
It stepped up even more when we started milling
composite resins in 2002 with the Paradigm MZ100
block. Today, we all know that CAD/CAM is more
than a restorative tool, it is a diagnostic tool, a prog-
nosis tool, etc. Above all, it is a fantastic platform for
the biomimetic approach and a supreme research tool,
| | | P U R I
because restoration design and quality can be highly
standardized. Finally, it is a necessary tool in the VDP
(Virtual Dental Patient), a concept that has been so
cherished by my mentors in Minnesota (Drs. Ralph
DeLong and William Douglas) since the 1980s. It is
interesting that I now find myself teaching in a place
like USC, where Jean-Francois Duret was developing
the first CAD/CAMrestorations 30 years ago.
Fig. 1: First French-speaking CEREC 1 class taught
by Dr. Magne in 1991 at the University of Geneva.
Fig. 2: Natural restoration
made of enamel and
dentin from a donor
positioned in ideal
occlusion and milled
to the ideal shape of
the preparation using
the CEREC system.
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