Restoration thresholdswhen structure changes the answer.
A restoration threshold is the point where the same tooth stops being “a filling decision” and becomes a structural risk decision. Many people are told “you need a crown” without understanding what actually changed. In Structural Decision Framework (SDF), we evaluate what remains, how force will concentrate, whether timing is helping or hurting, and what the tooth is likely to do over the next decade.
Teeth don’t get stronger with age. Enamel thins, dentin fatigues, microcracks accumulate, and old margins become stress risers. A “borderline” tooth often becomes predictable only after you decide whether you’re reinforcing the structure — or accepting a higher failure risk.
These scenarios apply the threshold logic to real decisions — what to watch, what to reinforce, and what tends to break when the structure is already compromised.