One of the dentistry’s most compelling new subjects was the topic of a press conference before the opening of the exhibit floor at the Chicago Dental Society’s Midwinter Meeting on Thursday, February 23. Larry Clark, Director of Marketing & Clinical Affairs for Pulpdent Corporation, presented “What is Bioactivity Technology and Why is it Important in Dentistry?” for a room full of intrigued dental professionals.

“We are moving past a passive mindset to an active mindset,” Clark said in explaining the emergence of bioactive materials in dentistry.

Dentistry should complement nature rather than fight it, Clark said. The average service length for tooth-colored restorations is only 5.7 years, and replacements of these defective restorations costs approximately $5 billion each year in the US, he said.

New bioactive materials, Clark said, can help because the body notices them and reacts. Sealing the tooth, he said, is the most important goal and instead of looking at products as the answer, dental professionals can look to nature.

“We have been putting materials in the mouth that are rock-hard, and the tooth needs to try to flex around it,” Clark said. “We need to think differently.”

Clark did not mention Pulpdent until the final slide of his presentation.

“This is a challenge for the greater good,” he said. “This is not about market share. This is about doing the right thing.”