The Bright Side of Future Dental Tech

Dental Technology  

There are several recent developments in dental technology that can give us all something to smile about. New tools and techniques are making dental procedures much more comfortable, safe, and convenient for the patient, and considerably less of an intrusion into their lives outside of the dentist's office.

Dentistry is a very different experience for the patient today than it was just a few years ago. Here are a few key examples:

Dental Digital Radiography

Dental X-rays were once uncomfortable and time-consuming, exposing patients and dentists to levels of radiation that were higher than anyone wished. An uncomfortable photographic film was placed into the patient's mouth, bulky radiation shielding was used to cover the patient's body, and the person operating the equipment stood behind a radiation shield. Then there was a delay as the film was developed.

With today's technology, a soft, comfortable sensor is placed in the patient's mouth, and a hand-held X-ray projector is used. The sensors detect a much weaker level of X-ray radiation, making them safer for everyone. They relay the information to a computer, which shows the results on-screen in a few minutes, showing higher accuracy and detail than ever before.

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CAD/CAM Technology

The previous procedure when a patient needed a crown was that the dentist would make an impression (mold) of the tooth and install a temporary crown. The impression would be sent to a dental lab, which would make the crown. The crown would then be delivered to the dentist, who would install it at the patient's next visit.

With Computer Aided Design (CAD), an image is taken of the tooth and interpreted by the computer, and this data is used by the Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) program to 3-D print the crown in the dentist's office for installation the same day. What once took weeks can now be done in an hour or two with porcelain or resins. With ceramics, a laboratory is still used, and two visits are still necessary, while accuracy and quality are still improved by the use of CAD/CAM.

This technology is useful for more than crowns; it can be used for bridges, veneers, and other dental appliances as well. Additionally, this procedure is common practice from dentists in Florida, USA; all the way to Dentist Calgary sw.

Air Abrasion

Air abrasion performs the same function as the dentist's drill, but does so quietly and painlessly, so there is no need for an anesthetic injection.

Instead of a drill bit, air abrasion uses a narrow stream of aluminum oxide particles that 'puff away' decayed tooth tissue. Blown in with compressed air or inert gasses, a dentist can do much more accurate and delicate work with this method. If a tongue gets in the way, all that the patient will feel is a puff of air on it.

The one negative factor is that this does blow the aluminum oxide grit into the patient's mouth. Most people don't mind the feeling, and it does rinse out easily.

Composite Resins

Sometimes called 'white fillings', composite resins can replace gold or amalgam for fillings and veneers. Composite material is blended to match the color of the tooth for fillings, or to be brighter yet still natural-looking for veneers.

Composite resins can be attached to a tooth without removing as much healthy tooth material as can be needed to anchor amalgam or gold. It is applied, and then cured to hardness (sometimes in layers) with a special light. When fully cured, it is shaped by the dentist for a completely natural appearance.

When used as a veneer, the enamel of the tooth is prepared by the same process that creates custom designs on glass interior doors, so a remarkably strong bond is formed. Glass and tooth enamel are both etched with an acid, which leaves a rough but fine-grained texture on the surface.

All in all, with recent technological advances in dentistry you are able to get great care for your teeth better than ever before. Additionally, the recent advances create less discomfort for the patient so they don’t have to put off the next dentist visit for fear of pain. This gives everyone a reason to smaller brighter than ever before!

By  Kevin Faber	Embed
Kevin Faber is the CEO of Silver Summit Capital. He graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in Business/Managerial Economics. In his free time, Kevin is usually watching basketball or kicking back and reading a good book.