dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

, SMK, short for ''System kompozytowy most'' ("Composite Bridge System"), is an adhesive restorative

prosthodontic Prosthodontics, also known as dental prosthetics or prosthetic dentistry, is the area of dentistry that focuses on dental prostheses. It is one of 12 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA), Royal College of Surge ...

technique, developed in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

during the 1990s. Using the SMK method, a prosthetic tooth is constructed and fitted without damage to the neighbouring teeth.

Description of method

In the SMK method, the dentist models and shapes a tooth from

composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

s and fits it in the interdental gap to be filled. In some cases a porcelain veneer is then placed on the new tooth to give it a more natural look. The tooth is attached to the neighbouring teeth also with composite materials. In 2011 over 1000 SMK treatments were performed,Data obtained by the author during medical research, consultations with orthodontists and performing SMK treatment on patients by the author of the method. mostly on the lateral

incisors Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

. The main advantage of this method is that there is no grinding of neighbouring teeth, so that the neighbouring teeth are not damaged. This means that the patient can at any time revert to their natural teeth. This method can also be used in situations where other techniques are not applicable: for example, if there is not enough bone and implants cannot be inserted, or the grinding and damaging of neighbouring teeth for a normal

dental bridge A bridge is a fixed dental restoration (a fixed dental prosthesis) used to replace one or more missing teeth by joining an artificial tooth definitively to adjacent teeth or dental implants. Definitions Fixed bridge: A dental prosthesis th ...

is not accepted by the patient, or the cost of alternative treatments is too high for the patient. The dentist makes the tooth in the surgery (a dental technician is not needed), and the treatment is completed in approximately two hours.

History

In 1992, the first SMK treatment was performed in the

Orthodontic Orthodontics (also referred to as orthodontia) is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, as well as misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modificati ...

Department of the Pomeranian Medical School in Szczecin, Poland, by C. Turostowski. At the beginning it was treated as a temporary solution. However, after seven years, due to continuing research the SMK method became increasingly used as a permanent option. In June 1999, Turostowski completed his Ph.D., "SMK – composite bridge of own construction applied in the rebuilding of lateral incisors". Initially, SMK treatment was applied with

orthodontic Orthodontics (also referred to as orthodontia) is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, as well as misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modificati ...

patients with missing lateral incisors. Later, it was applied to patients with other missing teeth, especially

premolar The premolars, also called premolar Tooth (human), teeth, or bicuspids, are transitional teeth located between the Canine tooth, canine and Molar (tooth), molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per dental terminology#Quadrant, quadrant in ...

s. In some cases SMK was used together with veneers so as to give it a more cosmetic and natural look. Shortly afterwards SMK was introduced for use not only with orthodontics patients but also with other dental patients. In 2003 many dental courses for dentists and dental workshops at medical schools and orthodontics departments were organised around Poland. Different variations of the SMK method have been developed.Patent nr Z-273018 Urzad Patentowy RP "SMK" - Composite Bridge System

Notes

References

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External links

Official internet website – SMK tooth in one day - method
{{dentistry Restorative dentistry Prosthetics Oral surgery