The aims of this lecture are 1) to encourage dentists to think more like engineers, and 2) to present the available engineering tools that could facilitate the design of dental restorations. The tools covered in this lecture include Digital Image Correlation, measurement of Acoustic Emission, micro-computed tomography, Finite Element Analysis and shape optimization. Examples will be presented to illustrate how these engineering tools can be used in combination to design and validate dental restorations that are more efficient and longer-lasting in performing their oral functions.