Patients’ requests and clinicians’ interest in esthetic restorations are not limited to anterior teeth. As a result, posterior “tooth-colored” adhesive restorative techniques grew over the last decade, and a plethora of materials and methods are now available to the clinician. Apart from their cosmetic advantage, these new adhesive techniques offer many other benefits such as tissue conservation and the natural strengthening of remaining tooth substance. These emerging concepts, which are following the so-called biomimetic approach, provide the ability to restore not only the esthetic but also the biomechanical and structural integrity of teeth. This presentation shows that dental composites and ceramics constitute striking elements of this nascent approach to tooth restoration. Indications for bonded restorations in the posterior dentition will be presented, including the biomimetic approach to treating severe loss of coronal substance and nonvital teeth. Attendees will benefit from learning techniques for more sound tissue preservation and maintenance of tooth vitality—both considerable improvements that influence the medicobiologic and socioeconomic approaches of dental practice and both of which are less expensive procedures compared with traditional and more invasive prosthodontic methods.

© 2008