Bioesthetic Niche Reinvigorates Small Lab

Dan O'Rourke was chugging along with his successful, 20-year-old lab in Dublin, New Hampshire and attending advanced education programs to continually enhance his craft. Then, in 2004, a dentist made a suggestion that changed the course of his business and reignited his passion for dental technology.

The suggestion? Bioesthetic dentistry. This approach to treatment considers not only a patient's teeth, but his jaw joints and head and neck muscles, and maintains that problems—such as TMJ pain, chronic headaches or damage to teeth—occur when these components aren't working in biological harmony. The concept was pioneered by Dr. Robert Lee, a biologist-turned-dentist who, in the 1970s, studied hundreds of older patients who maintained healthy teeth with minimal treatment or wear. He determined that the ideal dental model for optimal health is based on three principles: stable condylar position, correct coupling of upper and lower anterior...