Dentistry in the Digital Age

Technology has changed nearly every aspect of human life and modern society. New tools, programs, and education can greatly improve your healthcare, too! Let’s say you need any kind of standard dental restoration for a cracked or missing tooth. From x-rays and impressions to surgery and installation, your whole treatment could be digital. We’re so used to digital tools these days, you may not even notice how much technology a dentist can utilize to best serve your oral health needs. Below are some of the ways your oral care may be digitized.

CAD/CAM Software

Short for computer-assisted design and computer-assisted manufacturing, this software brings you better-fitting crowns, veneers, inlays and onlays, and bridges. CAD/CAM technology comes out of industrial engineering and manufacturing and into the dental office to provide faster, superior products and services in oral health. Using computers to design oral appliances–including clear aligner orthodontics–increases accuracy, efficiency, appearance, and function.

CAD/CAM dental services start with 3D images. The computer takes the images and creates a model of whatever restorative appliance you need. Research shows that dental restorations made with CAD/CAM technology are stronger and less likely to break. This is great news if you’re already dealing with oral health issues and you just want everything to look natural and work well.

Same-Day Milling

Thanks to CAD/CAM technology, you can now get many dental restorations placed in just one visit to the dental office. This is good news for busy people! All crowns, veneers, and onlays need to actually be created and shaped out of porcelain or composite. After using digital images to get a picture of your mouth, the information will be sent to a machine that can automatically create a natural-looking restoration on the spot.

The machine can usually make these in about 20 minutes. The milling machine may also glaze or stain the porcelain to best match your natural teeth. Like clay pottery, the porcelain or composite then needs to be fired. All of this should take anywhere from one to two hours. You can walk into the dentist toothless and walk out with a full, vibrant smile the same day.

Guided Surgery

Surgical guides are 3D computer images that your dentist may use to improve the accuracy and safety of having dental implants placed. Not everyone is a good candidate for implants, but if your dentist believes you are, they may also use a surgical guide during your procedure.

A surgical guide uses digital images to give us a realistic picture of your jawbones, gums, nerves, and more. A computer will help your dentist plan the whole procedure so that each step and measurement is more accurate. With all of this important information, dentists can work faster so you’re in the chair less (as much as we love to see you).

Cone-Beam Imaging

When your doctor or dentist needs to see beyond the naked eye, they can use one of many different x-ray and imaging technologies. Cone-beam images are 3D scans that use cone-shaped laser beams to get a complete scan of your entire mouth. Cone beams use more radiation than a standard dental x-ray, but far less than a standard medical CT scan. Cone-beam images especially help with placement and installation of dental implants.

Electronic Booking & Billing

Gone are the days of endless stacks of paper you need to keep track of and store. Gone are the days of being on hold with a receptionist. Many dental offices now make use of email and online programs to communicate with patients both for billing and making new appointments.

Now, everything you need to know about your oral care can be kept in one place to easily see and understand. Nothing can replace the friendly and professional environment of a good dental office, but digital communication helps ensure that you, the dentist’s office, and the insurance providers are all on the same page. So when you walk in for your appointment, things should flow seamlessly and with no surprises.

Finding a Digital Dentist

An everyday visit to the dentist looks a lot different today than it has in decades past. The services you need may require any or all of the above technology to provide quality care and favorable outcomes.

Atlanta orthodontist Dr. Caroline Ceneviz and the Chamblee Orthodontics team are always learning more about how to use technology to better serve you. Make an appointment today to learn more about what we can do for you and your smile!

The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

 

 

The post Dentistry in the Digital Age appeared first on Chamblee Orthodontics.



from Chamblee Orthodontics - Dr. Caroline Ceneviz https://chamblee-orthodontics.com/blog/dentistry-in-the-digital-age/
Chamblee Orthodontics Dr. Caroline Ceneviz
5070 Peachtree Blvd. Suite E150 Atlanta, GA 30341
(678) 251-9685

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help! My Child is Terrified of the Dentist

Image
If you’re the parent of a young child, you know their brains are similar to sponges that soak up everything around them—especially in their first five years, which neuroscientists say is when they’ll do the most learning and developing in their entire life. At this formative time, your child may amaze you with what they notice: your facial expressions, the different tones of your voice, and your habits. If your habits include regular dental visits and an excellent oral hygiene routine, they’ll notice and want to emulate you. If you happen to feel anxious about your dental visits, or you groan when you’ve got to floss and brush, they may synchronize and feel your dread. This could lead to dental fears that stick with them for years—potentially a lifetime! Kids Can Be Courageous If you’re feeling guilty right now, go ahead and put that away as it won’t serve you or your little one. Everyone has some room for improvement, and Coastal Pediatric Dentistry® is here to help show you an...
Read more

Going for the Gold?

Image
On the left is the older allow, on the right the new one that my lab has chosen to use The cost of a penny weight of pure gold is currently $79.53. The cost of a penny weight of pure palladium is $130.6. It used to be that palladium was added instead of gold to the precious metals often used for pfms, but now laboratories are finding that palladium is no longer affordable. The lab that I am using has just changed the formulation of the metal it's using to one that has more gold than palladium. I really do not mind, but metals with more gold are softer and often easier for a dentist to accidentally polish off delicate margins. It is important when polishing "higher gold" formulations to exert less hand pressure when performing the final polishing of the crown's margins. Other wise there should be no problem with this change. Traditionally labs have chosen alloys with higher gold percentages for optimal esthetics, since alloys with higher concentrations of ...
Read more

Lemon Juice – The Good, the Bad, & the Sour

Image
In a great tale of opposites, lemon juice can be both acidic and basic, or alkaline. Read on to find out why people are talking about this, and what it means for your oral and overall health . What is pH and why does it matter? Drinking lemon juice (usually diluted in a glass of water or added to a cup of tea) is a beloved health tonic among fans of natural medicine. Potential benefits include lower cholesterol, lower inflammation in the body, and increased metabolism and energy. Lemon also contains high levels of antioxidants and vitamin C that boost your immune system. On a scale from 0-14, a pH of 7 is neutral (pure water) while numbers below 7 are acidic (unhealthy), and above 7 are basic or alkaline (healthy). Believers in holistic health blame many ailments on the body’s pH being too low or too acidic. Increasing your body’s pH is called “alkalizing.” Lemon juice in its natural state is acidic with a pH of about 2, but once metabolized it actually becomes alkaline with a pH ...
Read more