Founding the Alleman Center of Biomimetic Dentistry
Welcome to the Alleman Center of Biomimetic Dentistry. In 2019, Hillary Alleman founded the center to create a Biomimetic Mastership program featuring her father’s work, the Six Lessons Approach to Biomimetic Dentistry. The Biomimetic Mastership is a comprehensive program that teaches dentists how to use the Six Lessons Approach to create the best outcomes for their patients. It may seem like Biomimetic Dentistry sprouted up overnight, but Dr. Alleman’s work in the field of biomimetic restorative dentistry has roots that go back several decades.
“I remember growing up and having friends at my house who couldn’t understand why there were so many posters of teeth in our basement,” recalls Hillary Alleman. “But that was how my dad first taught his Six Lessons Approach: in person, a few doctors at a time and with posters of the charts and cases from his library of articles.”
Dr. David Alleman, Dr. Davey Alleman and Hillary Alleman, founders of the Alleman Center
Dr. Alleman’s study of biomimetic dentistry began in 1995 when he wanted to quit dentistry altogether. Having practiced traditional dentistry since graduating from the University of the Pacific in 1978, he grew increasingly frustrated with restorative outcomes that still resulted in sensitive or painful teeth, failed fillings, crowns and root canals.
“Patients did not like coming to the dental office, and neither did I,” Dr. Alleman states. Today, he is upfront with how he felt about dentistry, “I know that many practicing dentists feel the same but don’t yet know that there is a better way.”
In a final attempt to find answers to his frustrations, Dr. Alleman enrolled in a 2-day class with Ray Bertolotti. It was there he learned about a new approach called adhesive dentistry.
“This inspired me to find better ways to fix teeth. I knew the answers were out there. Someone just had to put in the time to bring the research together.” From the thousands of hours he spent visiting dental school libraries around the United States and reviewing and organizing the literature he found there, Dr. Alleman distilled seven areas of science that he incorporated into his practice immediately:
Diagnosing caries removal using caries-detecting dye
Eliminating gaps under restorations and cracks into dentin
Using gold-standard bonding systems
C-Factor stress relief
Pulpal biology
Dental hard tissue differences
Managing occlusal forces
“I mastered these concepts, and the treatment outcomes were truly remarkable,” explains Dr. Alleman. “Sensitivity decreased, pulp deaths decreased, tooth preparation decreased, crowns were eliminated and patient satisfaction increased.”
This transformation was apparent to more than just Dr. Alleman and his patients. Davey Alleman, then 13, saw how his father went from hating dentistry to loving it and, at 13 years old, decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, not only in becoming a dentist but also in becoming a leader in the field of biomimetic dentistry.
Dr. Alleman condensed the thousands of articles he photocopied into a core collection of 128 articles. That peer-reviewed literature formed the techniques he had been practicing, which he formalized into a set of protocols he called the Six Lessons Approach. An homage to golfer Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons, Dr. Alleman’s approach gives doctors science-backed steps to create effective, long-lasting restorations.
“Just like Ben Hogan gave us the tools to perfect our golf swings, my Six Lessons Approach gives doctors the tools to be leaders in the field of biomimetic dentistry and give their patients the best possible outcomes.”
Since 2004, Dr. Alleman has been teaching doctors around the world through lectures, conferences and short seminars, but just like her father, Hillary Alleman saw there could be a better way.
“We prepared to host our first global Biomimetic Mastership in January 2020,” explains Hillary. “For many of the doctors - my dad and brother included - it was their first time using Zoom. That changed pretty quickly though.”
The Biomimetic Mastership offered doctors around the world the opportunity to study Dr. Alleman’s Six Lessons approach through an intensive nine-week seminar and individual mentorship meetings. Thanks to video conferencing, doctors could learn and enact the lessons they learned each week, without the expense of travel and time out of the office, making the program accessible to more doctors than ever.
The Alleman Center is the home of the Biomimetic Mastership, but Hillary Alleman doesn’t plan to stop there. “None of us would be where we are today if my dad hadn’t devoted the amount of time he did to finding this solution. More and more doctors are seeing the difference every day, so we’ll keep working until every patient can expect this level of care. Not to be in pain, to have a tooth that is actually fixed, to have a healthy smile. It seems so simple, and thanks to the Six Lessons Approach, now it is.”
Published: January 1, 2022
Author: Audrey Alessi
Editor: Dr. David Alleman, DDS