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Dentistry
has made some important advances in the last year or
two that we are pretty excited about. These high-tech
items let us do better dentistry more comfortably.
First,
we can now check teeth very closely with a tiny video
camera (see below for actual photos). We can spot very
early cavities that were invisible before magnification.
We are able to decide if these need fixing, and they
can be treated with smaller fillings, earlier and more
comfortably.
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We
also have a laser cavity detector (see photo at left)
that can find and measure decay in pits. It can detect
decay earlier, so it can be treated more easily and comfortably.
It can also tell what areas are simply stained and do
not need treatment at this time. |
| Second,
we have a system called Air Abrasion. This is like a
tiny sand blaster that sprays abrasive on the tooth.
We can use this to treat very small cavities, less than
0.1mm wide. These are painless, and there is no "drilling"
sound, just a hiss. Unfortunately, Air Abrasion is not
good for larger cavities or removing old silver-mercury
fillings (Yet). |
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Third,
we have new white resin filling materials that can flow
into tiny little cavities, so we don't have to remove healthy
tooth to make room for a 1mm wide silver-mercury amalgam
filling.
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Pit
and fissure decay (left) before and after (right) air
abrasion with resin.
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Fourth,
we have a system for deciding what kind of risk a patient
is at for getting decay. We can use this information to decide
whether micro-cavities can be safely watched (Low risk patients)
or if they need to be filled (High Risk patients) . We have
a special saliva test we can do to narrow this decision down
when the cavity risk is borderline. This takes 2 days for
results.
Sample
Saliva Test Result
Some
patients who are at medium risk may chose to have the deeper
grooves sealed up with resin just to be sure that they don't
decay, rather than waiting until they need a regular filling.
In other cases, we may use the Diagnodent Laser to monitor
areas and see if they are progressing.
The
best summary of this Micro Dentistry would be "Smarter, Smaller,
Quieter, and More Comfortable."
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