While none of us have a crystal ball to predict how the rest of 2020 will shape up or what to expect as we head into 2021, one thing that is almost certain is that dental technologies will continue to advance the field and benefit healthcare professionals and patients alike. With so many unknowns and unpredictability around COVID-19, we should anticipate and expect that the additional safety measures and enhanced sanitation will remain as normal practice.
Dental Implant Technologies: Robotics
We’ve highlighted the different types of dental implants: endosteal implants, subperiosteal implants, All-on-4 dental implants, implant overdentures and implant-supported bridges. What we haven’t highlighted yet is pretty groundbreaking dental implant technology. Let’s talk about robots!
Robotics have been used in all different surgeries to assist and enhance physicians’ knowledge and acumen. While none of us will see robots replace physicians, we will experience enhanced and even improved surgical results with help from robotic technologies.
In dentistry, robotics can enhance accuracy, precision, workflows, and even results for patients. While dental implants see great success rates for patients, as with all surgeries, there are inherent risks. Nerve damage and implant failure can occur and this is where robotics and navigational surgery technology can aid in improving success rates and helping to guide the surgeon during the dental implant procedure with enhanced precision and consistency.
Physicians got into the business of medicine to help patients. So if tools such as robotics can help them deliver even better results, expect to see increased use of robotic dental technology, especially when it comes to dental implants and other, more complex dental procedures.
Intraoral Scanner
Pictures are worth a thousand words right? And the ability to take such professional-looking photos has come a long way – just think about how cell phone camera technology has evolved over the years. In dentistry, photographs are a very important part of a patient’s dental history story.
At some point, you’ve probably had an impression taken of your teeth by biting into a tray filled with goop and probably can recall it being a less than pleasant, albeit necessary, experience. An intraoral scanner, like ITero, makes those gag-inducing impressions a thing of the past. An intraoral device is used to scan the patient’s mouth which creates a digital impression. It is quick and painless and can assist when it comes to Invisalign or any restorative dental needs. It can even show patients how their teeth will look after Invisalign, braces, or whatever restorative dental procedure you may be having. This new dental technology will hopefully become the gold standard leading to improved patient experiences and dental results.
Digital X-Rays
Medical x-rays have been around since approximately 1896, and it’s a good thing that they’ve come a long way since. Compared to traditional film x-rays, digital dental x-rays are quite similar but expose patients to less radiation and images go straight to a computer where they can be looked at instantly. Your dentist can pull them up on the computer to examine areas more closely and see areas below and inside the tooth that would otherwise not be visible.
Digital dental x-rays can be taken both inside your mouth, intraoral, as well as outside of your mouth, extraoral. When intraoral x-rays are performed, it is done either a bite-wing x-ray or a periapical x-ray. A bite-wing x-ray is when you bite down to capture a snapshot of a specific area and they often help identify any decay, the condition of bone around a tooth, which is useful before proceeding with a crown or filling.
Periapical x-rays show the entire tooth as well as the bone surrounding the tooth any abscesses or bone loss caused by gum disease. Extraoral x-rays are known as panoramic and this is where the machine circles around your head to capture photos of all your teeth and are commonly used to assess wisdom teeth, jaw issues, or dental implants. Dental technology has come a long way and continues to evolve seemingly overnight.
CAD CAM
Unlike traditional crowns, one-visit crowns, take just that, one visit to your dentist. Typically, getting a crown can be a few week process with multiple trips to the dental office, but with CAD CAM one-visit crowns, your time is spent much more efficiently.
Instead of the typical impression we all hate, digital impressions are taken to create a crown that usually only takes a few hours to make in the office. Crowns have some nice benefits. For instance, they do not have a metal core, which results in a tooth that looks much more natural. They are often typically stronger as well. The process to bond the crown to the tooth is quite similar, and the time usually spent on impressions, trips back and forth, etc. is virtually eliminated. In medicine, new dental technology that will decrease the time patients spend at the doctor and improve results is certainly a win-win.
Teeth Whitening With LED Light
There are lots of teeth whitening options out there – both over the counter and professional. LED teeth whitening eliminates the need for kits with hydrogen peroxide or potentially painful and inconsistent results from a laser. LED teeth whitening for both at-home and professional use will increase in the coming years as the results speak for themselves.
New Dental Technology
The field of medicine and technology continue to evolve at a rapid rate. As a patient, it’s important to find a dental professional near you that you can trust to give you the best care, and offering state-of-the-art dental technology is part of that process. As a patient, stay informed on what dental trends are out there and ask your dentist the tough questions to make sure you understand the pros and cons of all dental procedures and the options you have when it comes to routine cleanings, dental implants, teeth whitening, and orthodontia.
