Advancements in Dentistry
Promising Faster & Affordable Treatments
1. Clear Aligners
Clear Aligners: The invention of clear aligners eliminates any embarrassment that adult patients may feel if they need braces to straighten their smile. Clear aligners can move crooked teeth and close gaps without using metal brackets or wires. Consult with your dentist to see if clear aligners can align your smile.
2. Implant Improvements
Implant Improvements: Dental implant technology has greatly improved so that it is possible for patients to replace missing teeth with implants faster than ever before. Modern day dental implants capped by a crown, bridge, or denture look exactly like real teeth and are incredibly durable. They also have the highest success rate of any type of surgical implants.
3. Conscious Sedation
Conscious Sedation: Conscious sedation is a combination of medicines to help you relax (a sedative) and to block pain (an anesthetic) during a medical or dental procedure. You will probably stay awake, but may not be able to speak. Conscious sedation lets you recover quickly and return to your everyday activities soon after your procedure. It is commonly used for children and helps them undergo treatment with no or minimal discomfort
4. Endo Motors in Root Canal Treatment
Advantages of using Endo Motors over manual RCTs -
Faster treatment (often in one appointment), Patients feel much more comfortable during the treatment, More reliable, No unpleasant noises, More precision (the flexibility of instruments allows a better negotiation of curved canals), Higher quality treatments (more consistent). ITS performs more than 700 RCTs per month and endo motors are used for most cases.
5. Advanced Diagnostics - CBCT, OPG
Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT): is a medical imaging technique consisting of X-ray computed tomography and gives a comprehensive view of the human facial bone structure. During dental/orthodontic imaging, the CBCT scanner rotates around the patient's head, obtaining up to nearly 600 distinct images.
CBCT has become increasingly important in treatment planning and diagnosis in implant dentistry, ENT, orthopedics, and interventional radiology (IR), among other things. Perhaps because of the increased access to such technology, CBCT scanners are now finding many uses in dentistry, such as in the fields of oral surgery, endodontics and orthodontics. Integrated CBCT is also an important tool for patient positioning and verification in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT).
6. Ultra-Sonic Scaling
Ultrasonic Scaling: Tooth cleaning isn't just about appearances. It's the primary means of preventing and treating periodontal (gum) disease. Over time, dental plaque (a naturally occurring bacterial biofilm) and stains build up on tooth surfaces. Dental calculus (also called tartar), a harder deposit, can then form both above and below the gum line. A thorough dental cleaning removes these substances from the teeth, and helps keep disease-causing bacteria from proliferating. At one time, scaling was performed entirely with manual tools. But in the last several decades, the ultrasonic scaler has changed all that with one-third time, minimal discomfort, deeper & better cleaning
7. Teeth Whitening
Teeth Whitening: Improvements to whitening chemicals and methods make whitening your teeth safe, easy, and convenient. Although prescription strength treatments with whitening trays are available, the most effective whitening treatments are performed by a dentist in person.
8. Cavities? Composite Restorations are here
Composite Restorations: Worried about cavities? Well, you should! The cavities start as minor pits in teeth which, if not filled in within time, may lead to deeper pits and ultimately touch the nerves leading to serious pain. Food lodging happens in these pits which can lead to many other oral diseases.
Good news - Synthetic resins evolved as restorative materials since they were insoluble, of good tooth-like appearance, insensitive to dehydration, easy to manipulate and reasonably inexpensive.
9. Practice Management Software
Practice Management Software: Computerized programs that keep track of patients allow dentists to be more organized. Practice management software streamlines the administrative processes in a practice, which enables dentists to spend more time focusing on their patients’ needs.
Courtesy - Wikipedia & coastdental.com
