Six Lessons Approach Podcast by Dr. David Alleman

Epizode

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  Dental Isolation: Clinical Benefits, Tips, and Why You Should Use It With Every Case 10.09.2026 11min

  Dental isolation should be used with every adhesive restoration. Why? In this episode, Dr. David Alleman discusses how isolation improves bond strength, tips for practitioners on rubber dam placement, and additional techniques like copper band placement for deep margins. Send us Fan Mail View upcoming course dates at allemancenter.com/events Upcoming dates: September 14: Biomimetic Mastership starts September 25-26: SLA Workshop (optional DME/Isolation intensive) October 7-10: In-Person...
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  Dental Liners and Bases: Do They Benefit Adhesive Restorations? 27.08.2026 14min

  Do dental liners and bases benefit a restoration? Originally developed for retention restorations, liners and bases were believed to seal the dentinal tubules to protect the pulp, but later research showed their ineffectiveness. As restorative dentistry transitioned to adhesive materials and protocols, their use continued, but are they still necessary to seal the pulp? In this episode, Dr. David Alleman, DDS, discusses the research and effectiveness of liners and bases, and how the righ...
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  Biomimetic Dental Materials Part 2: Dentinal Bonding Systems, Flowable Composites and Fiber 06.08.2026 20min

  Biomimetic dental materials mimic a natural tooth’s flexibility and cohesive strength. How does this help a restoration long-term? These materials, when used with the right techniques, work with the remaining tooth structure around the restoration, rather than in opposition to it, like with materials that are too stiff, poorly bonded or stress weaker areas of the tooth. In this episode, Dr. David Alleman, DDS, dives into dentinal bonding systems, flowable composites and fiber, discussing what...
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  Biomimetic Dental Materials Part 1: Comparing Zirconia, Ceramic and Composite 23.07.2026 14min

  What materials should you use to maximize adhesive strength, restoration longevity and tooth conservation? While how you use the materials — your techniques – are more important than the materials themselves, materials do still make a difference in restorative outcomes. In this episode, Dr. David Alleman, DDS, discusses zirconia, ceramic and composite and these materials’ interaction with natural tooth structure. Articles referenced in this episode: Urabe I, Nakajima S, Sano H, Tagami J. Phys...
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  Fiber Placement in Restorative Dentistry 25.06.2026 16min

  Fiber placement in restorative dentistry: Does it stop cracks, improve bonds or just add time to your restorative process? Dr. David Alleman, DDS, dives into the history of dental fibers, including Ribbond, Everstick Net and Ever-x Posterior, their uses in different clinical settings, and the research that shows how they support the restoration long-term. Articles referenced in this episode: Belli S., Et al. The effect of fiber placement or flowable resin lining on microleakage in class...
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  Treating Cracks in Teeth: Propagation, Visibility, C-factor and Composite Layering 11.06.2026 14min

  Cracks put teeth at risk of infection and fracture if left untreated, but treating cracks in teeth can create many challenges for practitioners. Removing cracks without good magnification, visibility and an understanding of crack propagation puts the nerve and critical tooth structure at risk. Once the crack is removed, the non-standard defect requires specific techniques to bond to deep areas of the tooth while maintaining a strong bond. Dr. David Alleman, DDS, first began researching treatm...
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  Stop Treating Cracked Teeth with Retention or Adhesion (Do This Instead) 28.05.2026 15min

  Dentists have been attempting to treat cracked teeth for decades, with the goal of alleviating patient pain and conserving teeth through restorative treatment. But as Dr. David Alleman, DDS, describes in this episode, “it’s a coin toss of success.” Methods such as retention to hold the crack together or bonding over the crack with adhesion are unpredictable. Sometimes the treatment works, and sometimes it doesn’t, leaving patients and practitioners frustrated. The solution: treat cracke...
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  Diagnosing Structural Compromise in Teeth with the 1-2-3-4 Risk Assessment 14.05.2026 21min

  The most minimally invasive dentistry is early diagnosis and treatment. Dr. David Alleman created the 1-2-3-4 risk assessment so he could better diagnose teeth that were at risk of fracture or decay to prevent large fractures or carious lesions under the restoration. In this episode, Dr. Alleman discusses research into the structural integrity of different preparations and how practitioners can use this research to prevent cracks and marginal leakage before they pose a risk to the tooth. Arti...
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  Occlusal Effect Caries: Caries Caused by Cracks Into Dentin 30.04.2026 15min

  Treating cracks in teeth can still feel ambiguous for many dentists. Is it better to observe? Is it better to crown? Is there a less invasive treatment option? In this episode, Dr. David Alleman discusses a key piece of research that offers practitioners more insight into crack diagnosis and treatment: cracks that cause decay. Occlusal effect caries is a carious lesion that forms from cracks that extend into dentin, creating a pathway for bacteria to enter the tooth. These cracks, called peri...
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  Dental Concepts that Shaped a New Adhesive Dentistry: Biomimetic Dentistry 19.06.2025 29min

  With the invention of new materials for restorative dentistry, new techniques for application were needed. Research in bonding to dentin showed bond strengths that approached the cohesive strength of a tooth, but getting this research into the hands of practicing dentists was another process entirely. As Dr. David Alleman was learning and researching new protocols in adhesive dentistry, his questions about why debonds occurred in select areas of the tooth led to his formulation of the c...
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  The Importance of Universities in Adhesive Dental Research 05.06.2025 30min

  Dental research developments don’t happen overnight. The key players in dental research — university faculty, dental product manufacturers and the practitioners who adopt this research — work in varying capacities with the overall goal of improving dental outcomes for patients. Yet there is often a disconnect, slowing the lines of communication. In this episode Dr. David Alleman discusses leading universities who have contributed to the field of dental research, how dental manufacturers have ...
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  The Histology and Dental Research of Dr. Charley Cox 22.05.2025 19min

  Dr. Charley Cox was one of the early contributors to adhesive dental research, specifically in the field of histology. During the development of adhesive dentistry, Dr. Cox studied long-term pulp health in non-human primates, identified immune responses that confirmed Martin Brannstrom’s hydrodynamic theory of pain and connected internationally with adhesive dental researchers like Takao Fusayama, Stefan Paul and Sema Belli. Dr. Cox’s dental research contributions are to this day still ...
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  Diagnosis and Treatment of Referred Dental Pain 08.05.2025 24min

  Referred dental pain can be difficult for practitioners to diagnose without an understanding of the cause of dental pain and how teeth respond to different pathologies. Referred dental pain is caused by real symptoms that need to be treated, and in this episode Dr. David Alleman discusses types of referred dental pain, tips for diagnosing cracks under restorations and procedures for eliminating post-operative sensitivity through biomimetic restorative dentistry. Article referenced in this epi...
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  Early Adhesive Dentistry: Materials and Key Opinion Leaders 24.04.2025 17min

  As new dental materials are developed, manufacturers and key opinion leaders play a role in how widely those products are adopted. Manufacturers market new products, but key opinion leaders and teachers also influence practitioners by comparing the benefits of various materials and lending their expertise. In this episode Dr. David Alleman discusses his early introduction to adhesive materials, how his role models and mentors led him to a growing network of key opinion leaders in the dental m...
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  Using Chemical-Cure Dentin Bonding Systems for Endodontically Treated Teeth 10.04.2025 29min

  Popular during the early years of adhesive dentistry, chemical-cure dentin bonding systems have since become less common with the rise of light-curing, but they still serve a purpose when restoring the pulp chambers of endodontically treated teeth. In this episode Dr. David Alleman discusses the polymerization dynamics of chemical-cure and light-cure adhesives and how that impacts their effectiveness in different aspects of a successful adhesive restoration. Article referenced in this episode...
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  Synthesizing Research to Create Practical Dental Protocols 27.03.2025 24min

  How does peer-reviewed literature make it into the hands of practicing dentists? Sometimes it doesn’t. Other times research can be misinterpreted and applied incorrectly. The process of analyzing and applying current research is time consuming for practitioners to the point where new dental findings often fail to be widely adopted in practice. Reminiscing on his first meetings with researchers John Purk and Jack Ferracane, Dr. David Alleman discusses how synthesizing research into practical p...
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  Evidence-Based Dentistry: Literature Review for Dentists 13.03.2025 34min

  Evidence-based dentistry aims to bring current dental research into daily practice, but the process of adopting new findings and translating them into protocols is a complicated and time-consuming process. Dr. David Alleman discusses how dentists should approach literature and what to keep in mind when considering adopting findings into their own practice. From his own experience of wading through the sea of dental research, Dr. David Alleman created the Biomimetic Mastership, a compreh...
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  What is Biomimetic Dentistry? 27.02.2025 25min

  Biomimetic dentistry can be defined by three main principles: preserve pulp vitality, conserve critical tooth structure and fully connect the tooth at 30 MPa or more. Mimicking nature (biomimetic) is about scientific analysis of how natural teeth function and replicating those principles during the restorative process. This isn’t art; this is science. In this episode Dr. David Alleman discusses the research behind understanding how a natural tooth functions and how practitioners can rep...
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  What is Cosmetic Dentistry? 13.02.2025 20min

  Does biomimetic dentistry mean to mimic how teeth look? It can, but there is more to it than that. Dr. David Alleman discusses the evolution of cosmetic dentistry and its intersection with minimally invasive dentistry, adhesive dentistry and biomimetic dentistry. During his own research and teaching of biomimetic dentistry, Dr. Alleman met and taught a number of cosmetic dentists, including Joe Willardson, a longtime colleague, teaching partner and friend whose life and work is remembered aft...
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  What is Adhesive Dentistry? 30.01.2025 24min

  Adhesive dentistry has been taught in dental schools for decades and is widely used by dentists today. Bonding to a tooth offers increased adaptability of restorations, allowing for more minimally invasive treatment and preparation, but long-term success with adhesive dentistry is not a guarantee. Dr. David Alleman repeatedly saw failing composite restorations and realized that in order to improve restorative outcomes, posterior teeth needed more advanced protocols than anterior teeth. Subjec...