Cone Beam Scans
Cone beam CT scans provide more information than conventional dental x-ray, which mean we can create a more precise treatment plan. Plus the scanning is painless, noninvasive and accurate. A huge advantage of this tech is its ability to image bone and soft tissue at the same time. Oh the things we can now see!
Dental Lasers
Using dental lasers has the benefit of less pain. Often anesthesia may not be necessary. Lasers are sterile, which means there is less chance for an infection. And, lasers are extremely precise, so less healthy tissue has to be removed.
A Clinic Designed for a Post-COVID World
Negative pressure systems, like the one in our office, pull aerosolized bacteria and viruses from the air during and after a dental procedure. Fortunately, we designed this feature into our clinic upon construction, so you might not even notice them. This should be the standard operating procedure for all dentists after COVID-19.
Dental Implants
The benefits of dental implants are that they behave like natural teeth. They provide strength and function that is unrivaled by other restorations. Because the dental implant itself is anchored firmly in your jaw bone, much like your natural root, it provides greater stability.
In House three-dimensional printing and milling
Precision models, retainers and mouth guards, and cutting down on laboratory time are all the results of this new milling technology. How? When your diagnostic models are stored in a distant dental lab, they take extra time to retrieve. To save time and quality, we keep this process in-house so that your dental care is completed faster!
In House Crowns and Veneers
Veneers and crowns can improve your smile and the function of your teeth. Veneers are used when you want cosmetic improvement, like covering crooked or chipped teeth, especially your front teeth. We make great smiles.
Sleep Apnea Alternatives with Mouth Guards
Sleep apnea is a serious health condition that can be treated with a custom made mouth guard. We’ll take a mold of your teeth and use it to create a mouth guard specifically for the structure of your teeth, mouth, and apnea condition.
Dr’s review if he had sleep apnea (NYT, quote, link)
“The lead author of the study, Dr. Guillaume Buiret, head of otolaryngology at Valence Hospital in Valence, France, said that if he had sleep apnea, he would choose an oral appliance first.
“It’s easy to tolerate, effective and it costs a lot less than CPAP,” he said. “Thirty to 40 percent of our patients can’t use CPAP, and these patients almost always find the dental appliance helpful. I would recommend it as first-line treatment”
Want a deeper dive?
Aerosol control
One of the big issues with dentistry has always been the aerosol that is created when the hygienist or doctor uses an ultrasonic tooth cleaner or a handpiece to cut teeth. A fine mist containing oral fluids, bacteria, and virus is created. That mist is ejected outside the mouth and lands on shelves, floors, the chair, etc. This is nothing new in dentistry. It has been there since the electric dental handpiece was developed (1875). We have combatted that by draping equipment and surfaces, sterilizing everything, cleaning all surfaces between each patient, etc. As far as I know, dental aerosol has NEVER been implicated in disease transmission. But COVID-19 brought aerosol into question because of the ease of spread of the virus.
Digital dental lab
We are working to eliminate the mess that the dental laboratory has traditionally been. By eliminating the mess of various types of plaster that are used for dental models and instead using digital printing, we eliminate the dust, noise, and aerosols associated with dental model preparation. The lab also has it own evacuation fan to remove odors and dust.
High ceilings
When you visit, you’ll notice that the ceilings in the dental surgeries are very high. By increasing the volume of the room, we have a better chance of diluting any aerosol and preventing it reaching you than we would in a tightly enclosed space.
State of the art sterilization
Besides all the OSHA mandated controls for sterilization, we have implemented additional safeguards. We use an instrument washer and cassette system to process instruments. This makes cleaning instruments easier, faster, safer, and cleaner than older methods. It also eliminates the aerosol created by the large ultrasonic bath that is used to clean instruments before autoclaving in many practices. Our autoclaves send a report of each run to the cloud and they are reviewed daily, to complement the autoclave indicators in each pack of instruments and routine third party biologic testing. We’re really clean.
Laser dentistry
Laser dentistry also helps reduce aerosol production because the laser can be used to clean the mouth before treatment by Laser Bacterial Reduction. When used to prepare a tooth, there is no spinning burr to throw things into the air and the laser beam cleans the spot where it is working as it goes.
Modern handpieces
Air-driven handpieces (dental drills) have been replaced by electric handpieces which reduce the amount of aerosols produced during tooth preparation. Air-driven handpieces can rotate at 400,000 rpm where electric handpieces turn at around 100,000 rpm thereby throwing less liquid into the air.
Negative air pressure
We have a gigantic fan in the dental surgery (operatory) that we turn on when performing aerosol-generating procedures. That fan turns the air over in the operatories every few minutes to evacuate whatever aerosol is floating around.
Space while waiting
The waiting room is long and narrow. We can socially distance several people there.
Surfaces
All floors, counters and surfaces are solid to enable cleaning.