Dr. Pascal Magne is featured on episode 44 of the Dental Digest Podcast. He is one of the founders of the biomimetic dentistry movement and the author of the textbook Bonded Porcelain Restorations.

Dr. Magne was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland) in 1966. He grew up and followed his primary education in Neuchâtel. From there he moved to Geneva where he graduated in dentistry in 1989. He then completed a Doctoral Thesis in 1992.

He taught and continued his postgraduate education in Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry at the University of Geneva until 1997. He was awarded with major grants by the Swiss Science Foundation. He also received grants from the Swiss Foundation for Medical-Biological Grants, and the International Association for Dental Research. Between 1997 and 1999 he worked as a full-time research scholar in Biomaterials and Biomechanics at the University of Minnesota.

He recieved his PhD degree in 2002 from the University of Geneva and served as Senior Lecturer from 1999 to 2004.

Since February 2004, he has served as Associate Professor at the University of Southern California (USC, Los Angeles). He is currently Director of the Center for Esthetic Dentistry. He is the author of the textbook — “Bonded Porcelain Restorations” (Quintessence Publishing, 2002). This textbook has been pivotal in the biomimetic dentistry movement. He has written over 100 peer-reviewed research articles.

“I believe biomimetic research is the logical evolution of research in our profession. The real definition of the term ‘biomimetic’ in the field of restorative dentistry is the study of the structure, function and biology of the tooth organ as a model for the design and engineering of materials and equipment to restore or replace teeth. We need to go back to the source: the natural tooth; but unfortunately a lot of the time and money spent on materials research is not going in this direction. There is a lot of ‘zircomania’ – a quest for strength – whereas, in fact, there is nothing close to zirconia in the structure of a tooth.

Biomimetic research is changing dentistry in such a way that apparently ‘weak’ materials are used synergistically to simulate enamel and dentin. After all, enamel is extremely brittle (more brittle than glass) and dentin is certainly not wear resistant; yet, together perfectly bonded they can make a tooth that can withstand stress and function for a lifetime. How do you explain that? This is synergy! What I call the ‘dental trinity’ – enamel, dentin and the dentinoenamel junction – should be the model used and today we can realistically approach this model with the structured use of porcelain/ceramics, composite resin and enamel/dentin bonding agents. Adhesive dentistry is the cornerstone in this process. I believe biomimetic research will also allow us to develop better solutions for tooth replacement. Currently, dental implants are not biomimetic per se because of the lack of periodontal ligament and extreme stiffness etc. They are indirectly biomimetic only because the neighboring teeth are not altered altered by the procedure. We are looking at solutions to make implants more biomimetic through the use of more compliant materials;¹ even adhesive techniques for bonding to implant abutments can be very useful” – Dr. Pascal Magne, Nature.com

Find out if Dr. Magne’s episode of the Dental Digest Podcast is eligible for dental continuing education (CE) credit.

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