The world is moving from analog to digital, and so are dentists. Technology has revolutionized the dental industry to optimize patient care and satisfaction. The latest developments make your time in the dental chair more productive while ensuring that your absolute comfort is never compromised.
Dentistry is advancing and we have listed a few ways to do so;
Dental 3d Printing
As with many other fields of science and art, the potential applications of 3D printing technology are endless.
If you need a restoration procedure done, the sequence may be as follows:
Your dentist takes measurements of your upper and lower jaw
Send it to the lab.
You wait for the lab to create the tooth models you want.
You will be prompted to return when the final product is delivered to your dentist.
With the advent of 3D printing, all of this can be done in one appointment.
If you have a technology-savvy dentist, he scans your mouth with an intraoral scanner and then presents it as a 3D image on the computer. The dentist will then digitally design the desired treatment and send this information to the 3D printer, which will bring it to life.
A 3D printer has many uses in dentistry:
- Inlays and onlays
- Dental crowns
- Bridges
- Implants
- Mouth guards and night guards
- Full or partial dentures
Orthodontic Appliances (eg Invisalign or other clear aligners)
Not only does this save you weeks of waiting for dental labs to finish your dental product, it also gives you more accurate results. And let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to skip the long production process?
Whereas traditional methods allow your dentist to correct imperfections after the restoration is placed in your mouth, this new method allows your dentist to digitally correct errors before going to the print setup. This optimizes both your time, your dentist’s time and your overall health care.
Digital X-Rays
Radiographs, also known as X-rays, are an important part of treatment. They are used to diagnose many oral health problems that are invisible to the naked eye. This includes cavities, periodontal (gum) disease, and root infections, to name a few.
Traditionally, you, the dentist or dental hygienist, put the film in a plastic holder and place it in the area of your mouth they want to see. There are intraoral and extraoral x-rays that target different areas of the head. After the images are taken, they will be processed and analyzed by your doctor.
Although conventional x-rays have been a great diagnostic tool for years and continue to be used because of their lower cost, they have disadvantages:
- Film-based X-rays must be processed, which takes time
- Processing the film requires chemicals that can be toxic and difficult to dispose of
- Film is not as sensitive to x-ray beam as digital technology, meaning there is more radiation output from the x-ray head to create an image.
- Digital radiography uses digital sensors to replace traditional film that dentists have relied on for years. The sensor is connected to the computer and when it receives the image, it is immediately displayed on the screen for viewing and analysis. Conclusion? An all-digital workflow completed in seconds.
- It may be more expensive to buy for the dentist, but the benefits outweigh the initial costs:
- No chemical use
- Eco-friendly
- Faster processing saves valuable time for you and your dentist
- Image enhancement with computer software (with high resolution originals)
- 50-80% less radiation than film
- Images stored in electronic patient records and quickly sent to referral dentists or insurance companies
- If you’re concerned about the radiation of x-rays, we’ve answered a few questions here and here.
CBCT (Cone Beam)
The types of x-rays we use for diagnosis vary from case to case, and in some cases we need a little more information than a regular dental x-ray gives us.
Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is used to create 3D images of your teeth, surrounding tissues, nerves, ligaments, and bone in the maxillofacial region (head, neck, face, jaws). Think of it as 3D scanners that create a digital model of everything your dentist needs to see.
Your dentist will place you in the center of the beam and the machine will rotate 360 degrees around you. The whole process takes about 20-40 seconds for a full scan.
Here are a few reasons a dentist might need to use CBCT to better take care of a patient’s mouth:
Endodontic surgery (root canals): Provides clinicians with valuable information about sensitive structures such as sinuses, missed canals, and nerve canals.
Implant placements: Ensures proper placement of implants in the bone and location of the inferior alveolar nerve as it relates to placement of implants to prevent nerve damage
Orthodontic study: High quality analysis for correction of malocclusions and facial disproportion
Diagnosing TMJ
Detection and measurement of jaw tumors
The 3D images produced by CBCT identify approximately 40 percent more lesions (3). That’s why Dr. Burhenne recommends that patients have cone beam scans every 5-10 years after a root canal to identify emerging problems.
However, due to much greater radiation exposure than with regular dental x-rays, it is only done when the information provided for treatment planning outweighs the radiation risk. Therefore, the FDA recommends that tapered beams should not be the first route for dental images.
Intraoral Scanner and Intraoral Camera
If you’ve ever needed restorative or aesthetic work, you know that one of the first things your dentist or dental assistant does is take an impression.
You’ll find that they mix several ingredients to create a uniform consistency, transfer it to a tray and place it on your upper or lower arch. They hold the impression material for a few minutes until it hardens, and then remove it.
Most patients are quite uncomfortable with this process because of the taste of the material, the setting time and uncontrollable gag reflexes. Patient comfort, along with several other factors, can affect the accuracy of a conventional measure due to:
- Proper material preparation
- Mixing material
- Application technique
- Setting time
These difficulties can lead to inappropriate margins and overlooked details, resulting in improper occlusion (biting) as well as improper placement of restorations. Digital dental impressions offer an alternative to these complications so that a patient’s teeth can be restored without much discomfort.
Intraoral scanners are shaped like a pen and project a light source onto the area to be scanned, such as your upper and lower arches (5). Your entire mouth anatomy is captured by imaging sensors and projected onto a computer.
This creates a 3D model of your teeth and surrounding tissues, allowing your dentist to diagnose and treat you with greater accuracy and precision.
Here are some reasons why dentists are switching from traditional impressions to digital impressions:
Increased patient comfort (this is especially true for those struggling with mouth breathing, as the airway is not blocked by a large tray of impression paste)
- No gag reflex or pain
- Efficient time
- Improved impression quality and detail for better fitting restorations
- Reduction in technique-sensitive errors
- Eco-friendly solution that reduces the need for plastic and impression materials
- Improves communication and understanding between dentists and patients
- The latest technology includes intraoral cameras that allow your dentist to capture images from points that will be magnified during the scan. This provides greater overall comfort for the patient, better diagnosis and more efficient treatment planning.
Scan
Your oral cavity is a complex system of muscles, bones, and ligaments. For you to speak, bite, and chew properly, it all needs to be in harmony.
If one of these components is out of balance, it can lead to various problems such as:
- Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder
- Headache
- Bruxism
- Broken teeth
- Broken restorations
- Toothache
- Gum disease
Traditionally, dentists control occlusion (contact between teeth) with articulating paper. You will notice that your dentist will ask you to put this colored paper between your teeth and bite it a few times. Your dentist will then identify these colored marks left on the opposing teeth to check if they are making contact properly.
It is also used to check that new restorations such as fillings, inlays and onlays, crowns and bridges are in proper occlusion with the rest of your teeth.
One study surveyed a group of 295 dentists, most of whom reported that they “could not reliably distinguish high and low occlusal strength from looking at articulated paper marks.” Analysis from this study showed a sensitivity of 12.6% and a specificity of 12.4%; this proves extremely low reliability and confidence when using articulating paper as a diagnostic tool.
Scan offers a modernized solution to these problems. The scanning device has an extremely thin sensor placed inside your mouth, and you are asked to bite into it, just like with jointed paper. Special software then displays your occlusion on a computer screen.
Here are a few things Scan can do:
Detects bite time and bite force
- Shows how the occlusion relates to your TMJ
- Determines which forces are causing trauma to your .TMJ
- Detects the presence of any occlusal interference
- With this device, all assumptions about using articulating paper or other traditional methods are eliminated. Your dentist will be able to more accurately diagnose and correct any bite issues and optimize your post-operative recovery.
Staff
If you’re someone who is afraid of going to the dentist, it’s probably because of one thing: injections.
Injections cause increased anxiety levels and discomfort in patients. Needles can be very intimidating for some people, and the thought of getting an injection at the dentist completely deters patients from coming. Asa offers a solution to this.
The wand is an extremely thin needle that looks more like a pen than a needle. This automatically puts a patient who would normally seem extremely anxious in the dental chair at ease. A cartridge filled with local anesthetic is placed in the Staff and delivery of the anesthetic is controlled by a computer.
The main benefits of the wand include:
- Single Dental Anesthesia (allows dentists to numb only one tooth instead of the entire lower jaw)
- Three different delivery speeds (Slow, Fast and Turbo) depending on the injection site
- Reduces patient anxiety levels
- Extremely fine needle resulting in less pain during injection
CAD/CAM
Computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) is computer software used to design and create prosthetics. A dental prosthesis is a dental device used to replace defects such as missing teeth or parts of intact teeth that need restoration.
Why are dentists switching to CAD/CAM?
- Faster manufacturing
- More precise fit
- Increased predictability
- Increasing productivity
How does CAD/CAM do all this? It transfers the information to the computer digitally with the help of an intraoral scanner called CEREC (CEramic REconstruction).
As mentioned earlier, the digital light source in the scanner scans the tooth in need of restoration and any adjacent teeth that affect its function. The computer then uses this information to precisely calculate a 3D image of the restoration of the tooth in question.
We use this orthodontic modeling for a variety of procedures such as:
- Inlays and Onlays
- Crowns
- Bridges
- Dental implants
All this is brought to life using the production part of the device, the CAM unit.
A certain material such as titanium, resins, glass ceramics and zirconium oxide is placed in the grinding unit. The CAM unit grinds the material according to the precise computer-generated structure and brings the image to life in minutes.
While it used to take several visits to the dentist for a restoration, CAD/CAM reduces it to just one. The applications of this technology are numerous and it helps dentists achieve more accurate clinical results.
Revolutionizing Dentistry Through Technology
From 3D printing to in situ milling machines, the world of dentistry has completely revolutionized the dental market with modern technology.
Dentists can now provide faster and better quality treatment than traditional methods. They can be more accurate and precise in their treatment, preventing future complications. State-of-the-art equipment provides dentists with greater confidence and predictability, providing better healthcare to their patients.
