17 Aug Biomimetic Dentistry Defined
Biomimetic Dentistry
In previous blog posts we’ve delved into the world of Biomimetic Dentistry. We’ve done our best to explain what exactly “Biomimetic Dentistry” means, but sometimes it’s best to dissect the word itself to familiarize ourselves with the concept as a whole.
The first part of “Biomimetic” is pretty obvious. “Bio” of course comes from the Ancient Greek word “bios” which means life. In general this prefix is used in reference to the natural world and all “living” things. So biology is the study of life, bioluminescence is the production of light by living organisms, biography is an account of a person’s life, and so on.
The next part of “Biomimetic” may not be as obvious at first glance. Also from Ancient Greek, “mimesis” translates to imitate or mimic. So when you put these two pieces together you get a word that essentially translates to “Imitating life or nature.”
Biomimetic is not only used in reference to dentistry, it can be applied to any technology, science, or invention that looks to nature to for answers to problems. Examples of this range from imitating arrangements of plant leaves for more efficient solar power collection, aircraft wing design based off of birds and bats, and even the hooked structure of Velcro mimics that of burs.
Contact the doctors at Prescott Dentistry for more information.
Image used under creative commons license – commercial use (8/15/2014) Joyce cory (Flickr)