Author Archives: Daniel Alter

Hello All,

You are currently embarked on an exciting world of Restorative Dentistry. Your knowledge, skills and creative abilities are able to change people’s lives. It all begins with tooth morphology, which is the study of form and function. Throughout time teeth evolved to have the shape and function we see today. Each component of every tooth, from eruption during childhood to permanent adult teeth has a specific function or task. The Central and lateral Incisors are the teeth designed to cut or shear our food while our cuspids also known as Canines are geared for grabbing and tearing food. The posterior teeth have a wider occlusal table and not as sharp cusps which are designed to crush and grind our food making food easier to digest. So as you can see form and shape has been designed slowly throughout time to function in a precise way to facilitate digestion of food.

Teeth have an aesthetic component to form. We are all aware of how a healthy beautiful smile is the trademark that has made so many actors and models who they are. Julia Roberts comes to mind when thinking of the power of a smile. People psychology and self-esteem many times is linked to their smiles. So many times I heard patients tell me that they always covered their smiles due to the way they looked. Now, however with a new smile they feel a sense of rebirth and rejuvenation they never experienced before. It is one of the most rewarding elements a restorative dentistry technician can have.