Failure patternshow dentistry fails over time.
Failure patterns explain how dental work breaks down — not in theory, but in real mouths over years. Within the Structural Decision Framework (SDF), failure is usually predictable once you know the structure, forces, and timing.
- Crowns: margin leakage, cement breakdown, root fracture under accumulated load.
- Fillings: cusp fracture and crack propagation as structural reserve decreases.
- Root canal teeth: brittleness and vertical fracture when structure is thin.
- Implants: overload, crestal bone loss, and inflammation when force and biology misalign.
Every redo removes more structural reserve. Filling becomes larger filling. Large filling becomes crown. Crown becomes root canal and crown. Root canal tooth fractures and becomes extraction. Extraction becomes implant. Each step can be appropriate — but each step reduces remaining margin. Failure patterns compound when aging, force, and timing are misaligned. This is structural math, not pessimism.
These scenarios apply failure modeling to real decisions — showing how breakdown progresses and when intervention changes trajectory.