Advanced Dental Technology Waco
Speed, Precision & Comfort Every Time
If you think about your phone, it has changed tremendously over the past decade, and now, it has more processing power than the computers NASA used to send a man to the moon in 1969. While we won’t be sending you to outer space, dental technology has benefitted from this same kind of progress over the years. This has allowed our team the tools to find, diagnose, and treat dental issues in less time than ever. Take a look at the type of advanced dental technologies we use here in Waco and feel free to give us a call if you have any questions.
Intraoral Camera
Thanks to our Mouthwatch intraoral camera, you’ll finally be able to see your smile from your dentist’s point of view. This small, wand-like instrument fits easily into the mouth and can capture high-resolution images of the teeth and gums that we can show you on a monitor right in the treatment room. These can serve as excellent visual aids, helping you better understand your dental health and why we might be recommending a certain treatment.
3D Cone Beam Imaging
When planning a complicated procedure like dental implant placement, we need a little more information than what is provided by a traditional 2D X-ray. Rather than having a patient undergo a complete CAT scan, our Sirona Orthophos cone beam scanner provides the perfect middle ground. It enables our team to create a highly detailed 3D X-ray image of a patient’s teeth, jaw, and surrounding oral structures. With it, we can come up with very precise and personalized treatment plans to guarantee a procedure’s success as well as an easy recovery.
What Is a Dental Cone Beam?
The CBCT machine is essentially an advanced X-ray machine. In fact, the two tools use the same type of radiation to give dentists a look at things that are impossible to see with the naked eye. However, there is a huge difference between CBCT scans and typical X-rays. A normal X-ray produces just a two-dimensional image. A CBCT scanner uses a cone-shaped beam of radiation to produce countless images, which then get assembled into a highly detailed, three-dimensional representation of the inner workings of a patient’s oral anatomy.
How Does Cone Beam Technology Work?
The patient’s experience with a CBCT scanner is simple, quick, and painless. Your dentist or hygienist will position you in the machine, and you will stand very still during the scan. Depending on how large the area being scanned is, you might be in the machine for a few seconds, or as long as 40 seconds. Once the scan is complete, your dentist will have immediate access to the results.
What are Some Uses of the Cone Beam Technology?
While we routinely take X-rays of our patients’ teeth and jaws, we reserve the CBCT scanner for specific purposes. For example, if you have a severe toothache and we suspect that you need root canal therapy, we will take a CBCT scan so we can diagnose the reason for your pain and plan your treatment. The machine is also a vital part of the dental implant process. It helps us to plan precisely where we will insert the implants and anticipate any potential challenges that might affect how we carry out the procedure.
Using our Cone Beam as a Teaching Tool
We want our patients to be well-informed about their oral health, which is why we do more than just explain aspects of dentistry to you. We can take you on a “field trip” to our CT room, where we’ll show you the results of your scan. Armed with that information, you will be in the best position to make wise decisions about your treatment.
Digital Dental Impressions
Our practice uses dental impressions to design a wide variety of treatments, from crowns to veneers to Invisalign and more. If you’ve ever had one taken the traditional way—with dental putty—then we bet it wasn’t exactly your favorite experience! Thankfully, we’re now able to create a highly accurate model of the teeth with just a few non-contact scans, a process that is much faster and more comfortable than the old way. It only takes about 3 minutes from beginning to end, and it allows us to keep the putty safely tucked away!
Soft Tissue Laser
When it comes to treating the soft oral tissues of your mouth, we can use our Biolase Diode laser or our Fotona Lightwalker laser. These uniquely designed solutions make treatment easier and more comfortable for all patients, targeting bad bacteria and even removing excess tissue when necessary. With their concentrated beams of light, healthy tissues remain untouched, allowing for more precise and accurate treatment.
Digital Cavity Detection with iTero
Using our iTero digital cavity detection system, we can pinpoint early signs of decay with the help of near-infrared technology. This makes it easy to detect interproximal dental caries so that we can administer appropriate treatment before it has the chance to spread. This specific device is used primarily for pregnant women for safety reasons, as certain digital imaging systems and treatment options may not be appropriate throughout pregnancy.
3D Printer
We like our patients to know exactly what to expect no matter what kind of treatment they are getting, especially if it is something that will change the appearance of their smile. That’s why we have a 3D printer, which can quickly create physical models of a patient’s teeth that can be altered to show how a particular procedure could change them. This way, there are never any unpleasant surprises after treatment, and any adjustments can be made before we do anything to the teeth.
All-Digital Dental X-Rays
Giving patients personalized care depends on us having the most comprehensive picture of your needs. That's why X-rays are so essential to the treatment process. With the advances in digital technology, taking X-rays has never been as easy, comfortable, or safe as it is now. To learn more about the benefits of digital radiography, we invite you to give our Waco office a call.
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