The Digital Dentist

Technology in the field of dentistry is evolving continuously. It has been predicted before that there will come a time that everything will be done digitally from scheduling to finished restoration. At the rate it’s going, the time of that prediction has come. And this was felt and seen in the recent ADA Annual Session and Milan Dental Show. The venue was filled with so many digital equipments presented not as gizmos but what the technology of dental industry can now offer. Advanced software applications are more advanced, digital imaging continues to be enhanced and we’re seeing more amazing diagnostic potentials.

The main reason probably why thousands of patients choose the CEREC technology is that it offers a single appointment dental care. There is no need for a second appointment because the whole process would take only for about an hour which is really economical. Plus the fact that the process totally eliminated all the messy stuff used in the traditional way. Aside from the conveniences mentioned, CEREC technology is also healthy because the material used is ceramic instead of the usual amalgam. And they are chemically bonded saving healthy tooth tissues in the process. All of these benefits give patients reasons to smile all the more.

CEREC is an acronym for Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics. In layman’s term it means restoration of damaged teeth in one session with the use of a high-quality ceramic material with the same natural color like the other teeth. The instrument used in CEREC incorporates a camera, a computer and a milling machine all together plus the advanced technology of Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM). The camera is used to take photo of the damaged tooth. The image can be seen on a colored computer screen and the dentist will use the CAD technology in designing the restoration. Afterwards the dentist will attach the new restoration and finishes the process which will take only for about an hour.

Kudos to modern technology, there’s a brighter tomorrow for patients who will no longer endure the muddled and distasteful process of making teeth molds. By tradition, fixing a tooth involves a mouthful of messy, bad-tasting material placed inside a patient’s mouth to make a tooth mold. Now, patients couldn’t be happier because of the latest innovation in tooth repair. Prosthodontists are now using the recent technology that produces a 3D image of the patient’s teeth. Since it is 3D digital image, the result is more likely to be accurate much to the advantage both of the patient and the dentist as well.

The most well-known of the camera systems and the first that was introduced in the market were the fiber optic systems. They use very high-end optical systems in producing the best image quality. The light source if found in a separate box and fiber optic cable is attached from the box to the handpiece. Initially, these were the only intraoral camera systems available. Some dental offices do not consider these cameras to be viable because they find the camera and light source quite heavy and harder to move from one operatory to another. Being heavy, they sometimes use a cart to hold all the components. To be more useful, a docking station was placed in each operatory.

The problem of having to move fiber optic cameras brought about the development of USB camera systems. These cameras are lightweight with the light source being built into the handpiece and is made up of a ring of lights around the lens. This makes the camera extremely portable and which you can carry along with you. They use standard USB connections which can be easily attached to any computer. However, one of the flaws of this kind is its small lens and the LED lights. Dentists think that the image quality of these cameras is not ideal for diagnostic purposes – locating a fracture or canals for endo procedures.

Intraoral cameras sees the diving cost of the extraoral digital cameras as its biggest competition. The quality of these extraoral camera’s image is ideally far better than any intraoral camera – resolution is higher and the shutter speed is a bit faster. But the main advantage of intraoral cameras is ease of use and shorter time to see the image. You can have an image on the screen a few seconds after getting the hardpiece. For digital extraoral cameras, you have to switch on the camera, use retractors or mirrors, and frame the shot, shoot the picture, and download the image into the software.

The dentist faces a dilemma of whether to buy image management software from the practice management software company or to invest in a third party product. PMS companies have added imaging suites to what they offer. The programs are fully integrated in the PMS software makes the dentist think that they are using the same program but in reality the databases are separate. This function of storing image in separate database is sensible specially when the dentist decides to change to another program in the future. It’s best to have the same company handle everything about the software. The patient chart and the image’s thumbnail can be viewed at the same time which is not possible with a third party program.

We often think that the teeth is merely the part which is visible about the gum. However, that is only a portion of the whole and it is referred to as the crown. The tooth also has a neck lying at the gum line, and a root which is below the gum. The enamel which is harder than bone, coats the crown to protect the dentine. The dentine which is slightly softer has tiny tubules connected to the central nerve of the tooth. The pulp carry nutrients to the tooth. This part has nerves that can sense hot and cold substances.

There are now many alternatives when it comes to replacing your missing teeth. Dental implants and dentures are on top of the list. The two are different in terms of comfort, durability, and cost of procedure. Dentures are very conventional, people are actually not happy wearing them. Dental adhesive, upper palate and metal clasp are among the things that give you discomfort using dentures. The advantage only is that dentures are constructed quickly and cost less. On the other hand, dental implants offer a highly functional and permanent dental replacement. The solution is life long but the cost is a major investment. The choice is still yours.