A Message from Our President: Rediscovering Nature’s Design in Bioesthetic Dentistry

By Dr. Michael Edwards, DMD – President, OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry®

Seeing Dentistry Differently

Dear Colleagues,

It is both a privilege and a responsibility to serve as President of OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry®. I believe deeply that dentistry can be biologic, beautiful, and profoundly fulfilling, not only for our patients, but for us as clinicians.

Over the course of my career, I have taken many restorative and occlusion-based continuing education programs. I was committed. I was searching. And yet, despite all the training, something still felt incomplete. The outcomes were not as predictable as I hoped. There was still uncertainty in complex cases. There was still a lingering question: What am I missing?

What changed everything for me was what I call the gift of sight.

For years, I had been trained to look for disease. Caries. Fracture. Wear. Symptoms. But I had not been taught to truly look for health. When I began to see what a healthy chewing system looks like – how the joints, muscles, airway, form, function, and even fascia interact as one integrated whole – my entire perspective shifted.

I began to understand how the chewing system affects, and is affected by, the rest of the body. I began to see how imbalance creates dysfunction. And most importantly, I learned how to restore harmony according to nature’s desig, —the principles of Bioesthetic Dentistry.

That clarity changed my practice forever.

Dentistry Rooted in Biologic Truth

At OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry®, we teach clinicians how to evaluate and restore the chewing system as a complete, biologic system. This includes the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), muscle harmony, occlusal stability, airway considerations, and restorative form.

Bioesthetic principles are not about trends or products. They are about understanding how the human stomatognathic system was designed to function. When we restore that system based on biologic truth, outcomes become more predictable, symptoms diminish, and patients experience long-term stability.

For me, the difference was not simply learning new techniques. It was learning how to see health clearly, and how to use that vision to guide diagnosis, treatment planning, and full-mouth rehabilitation with confidence.

A Residency-Style Dental Education Experience

One of the most significant distinctions of OBI’s education model is that it is residency-style learning.

This is not a purely didactic lecture series. It is not simply a hands-on laboratory module. The hands-on experience here is real-life clinical application. You treat a patient from your own practice under mentorship and guidance.

When you complete real patient cases, when you diagnose, plan, and execute treatment based on biologic principles, you do not just gain information. You gain clinical confidence.

That is why OBI’s education model produces transformation, not just continuing education credits.

You Will Never Walk This Path Alone

What makes OBI unique is not only what we teach, but how we support you.

Every dentist is paired with a mentor. In addition, each participant is assigned what we call an Angel, an experienced member of our team who is available on short notice to help guide you through challenges or uncertainties. If you feel stuck in diagnosis or treatment planning, you are not alone.

We walk beside you.

This is a community of clinicians who believe in biologic dentistry, lifelong learning, and professional integrity. The relationships formed through OBI often last a lifetime. We gather annually, share cases, audit programs, and continue refining our skills together.

The path is rigorous. It requires discipline and commitment. But it is deeply rewarding.

Restoring Purpose in Clinical Practice

Many dental professionals reach a point in their career when they feel capable, but not fully confident. Skilled, but still searching.

If that resonates with you, I want you to know that I have been there.

The clarity that Bioesthetic Dentistry brings restores more than occlusion. It restores purpose. When you understand how to stabilize the joints, harmonize the muscles, respect the airway, and design restorations that support physiologic health, dentistry becomes more than procedure-based care. It becomes system-based healing.

That is what we strive to teach at OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry®.

An Invitation to See Clearly

If you are early in your career and searching for direction, or if you have completed other restorative or occlusal-based programs and still feel that something is missing, I encourage you to explore Bioesthetic Dentistry.

Not as another technique. Not as another protocol.

But as a way of seeing.

Seeing health.

Seeing balance.

Seeing how nature designed the chewing system to function—and how to restore it with clarity and confidence.

This path is not easy. But it is worth it. And it would be an honor to walk it with you.

With deep gratitude,
Dr. Michael Edwards, DMD
President, OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry®

About OBI’s Curriculum

The Core Curriculum of Dental Bioesthetics is a comprehensive, multi-level educational pathway designed to guide dentists and laboratory technicians from foundational diagnosis to advanced full-mouth rejuvenation.

The journey begins with the 100 Course, introducing the three foundational principles of Bioesthetics and the biologic model of the human chewing system. From there, students progress through the 200 Series (Diagnosis and Stabilization for Condylar Health), the 300 Series (Minimally Invasive Treatment of Unstable Occlusions), and the 400 Series (Diagnosis and Treatment of Severely Damaged Orognathic Systems). The 1000 Series International Fellowship Program further expands the learning experience.

Every graduate completes and presents two patient cases from their own practice, a requirement that sets OBI apart from every other continuing education program in dentistry.

Complementing the Core Curriculum is OBI’s Lab Curriculum (Series 600 and 700), which focuses on the biologic model and functional morphology of the stomatognathic system. Through wax-ups, morphology training, and comprehensive functional morphing, dentists and technicians learn to restore natural relationships with precision and predictability.

Together, these programs form a complete educational pathway rooted in biologic truth, hands-on mentorship, and clinical excellence.

To learn more about the OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry® curriculum, upcoming course dates, and enrollment opportunities, call (800) 438-6441 or click “Learn More” on our Curriculum page to begin your journey.