Dental Technology

" In the wake of a Midwestern woman being sickened by lead-tainted dental work that was outsourced to China, consumers are being asked to inquire about the origins of their crowns, veneers, bridges and dentures."

Outsourcing of dental labwork has been going on for many years, primarily to Mexico and more recently to the Orient such as China.  And, naturally, reports are now surfacing about lead contamination and other problems with the dental devices being shipped back to the States.

Quality control of laboratory work such as crown and bridges has been one of our major concerns, and that's why we chose to take out two treatment rooms and donate the space to our very fine lab technicians, Jim Chapman and Sue Mulliken.  They're both CDT's which means they've attained the highest training in laboratory science and art.

And scientist-artists they truly are.  There are very few in the world who can manage the creating of functional art like these two very talented and experienced artisans.

Sue Mulliken designing a crown on the computer.

If you are concerned about what the lab has used for your dental restoration, ask to see the Identalloy sticker that specifies composition in detail.

And , if you'd like to tour the lab facilities, just let us know.  You won't find any lead! ...Just gold and ceramic materials, since we are transitioning away from metal use in the mouth wherever possible.

Microscope Dentistry

	We have been pioneering the MagnaVu video dental microscope system.  This allows us excellent vision while sitting in an upright posture that saves the back.  Our assistants can see exactly what we're viewing in order to help us more effectively.  Ultimately, this can mean more accurate dentistry and faster, more comfortable appointments.

Seeing AROUND Fillings and Inside teeth

Metal restorations really block our view inside teeth when we take x-rays, so it's really great to have alternative technology that lets us spy cracks, leakage and decay in areas that were previously invisible.

This is the Difoti system.

Leaking cracks around an old filling.

Laser Scanner Sees Deep into Teeth

Another great tool to catch things early is the Diagnodent laser scanner that can look inside teeth and spy decay long before we can detect it otherwise.

Besides giving us a warning beep, the system is calibrated to accurately give us numbers so we can follow a possible cavity over time to see if it's getting bigger or even regressing thanks to remineralization procedures we now use.

NO-DRILL, NO-NUMB FILLINGS

While the laser may not be ready for cleaning out teeth for fillings, a new technology is revolutionizing tooth preparation-- the kinetic particle beam , also known as air abrasion. (see: http://www.drraskin.com/air_abrasion.html)

Combining a very fine stream of high pressure air plus microscopic artificial sapphire powder produces a beam that is ideal for cleaning out small cavities.

Many teeth will not even require anesthesia in order to prepare in complete comfort. Patients report feeling the cold air and not much else. So, it is rare to require numbing.

Particle beam technology is not suitable for every cavity yet, so we still have to use professional judgement in proper selection of the site for this exciting procedure.

The small preparations we are able to make with this system allow very conservative and very good looking restorations.

This is fortunate, since a number of research reports recently are advocating treating many more of the brown grooves we see on the biting surfaces of the teeth. Many more have decay than was originally thought.

IMPLANT EXCITEMENT

It's really exciting to see what we can accomplish these days using implants to replace missing teeth.

We get great satisfaction when we can help someone improve their quality of life like this. Imagine what it's like to be able to chew comfortably and completely again. Or to smile with confidence that your loose denture won't be flopping around.

Sure, implant procedures may take time to complete, but, once they're done, they're nothing short of amazing. And, if you look at how long they last, implants are probably by far the most cost-effective dental restoration.

Werecently attended another implant conference and have been amazed by the progress that we're making.   But with new implant technology, some teeth can be placed in one day!

Bill was one of the founding members of the Inland Empire Implant Study Group and has been restoring implants for over twenty years.

We'd love to share our enthusiasm about implants with you or your friends. Give us a buzz!

Digital X-rays

We were one of the first offices in the area to go digital on our x-rays.  This immediately cut x-ray exposure by a factor of five to ten times.

But we also found that we are able now to tease more information out of our digital x-rays thanks to the various options available in our program.  Take a look at the pictures above to see some modifications of the standard view.  This helps us see subtle changes in the teeth, bones, joints and sinus areas before problems get too big.

Beyond the MagnaVu--Cancer Detection

The Velscope detects cancer

Dark areas are problem cells--
Catching things EARLY is the name of the game!

Better Scanning

What's better than a CAT scan to show us where things are in three dimensions with a MUCH lower x-ray exposure?  The new technology is called cone-beam scanning, and we were one of the very first in the world to explore this new way of seeing far greater detail.

In this area we use the system called NewTom.  The "Tom" part refers to tomography, the science of seeing sections of the body and measuring them precisely.

Of course this is uniquely important for our implants, so we can see exactly where there is bone and where there is not foundation for the artificial tooth roots.

But the NewTom scans can show far more than just the jawbone.  Scans give us remarkable insight, for instance, into what is happening within the jaw joints or the sinus cavities.

Here are some NewTom pictures:

A 3D Reconstruction

Sectional views inside the jaw joint.

Looking at the entire jaw.

The red section shows the nerve that goes to all the teeth.

How we plan to look through sections of the jaw.

LASERS FOR STRONGER CURING

New laser technology will allow us to speed up and strengthen all of our bonding procedures in the near future.

As you may be aware, our office has pioneered several techniques for placing bonded, tooth-colored fillings. Now several of our procedures are being taught around the world.

One of the most satisfying methods of making remarkable changes in the smile involves veneering. With this procedure we bond a custom-cast porcelain facing over the surface of the offending teeth. In days we can totally rejuvenate a smile.

The bonding process, though, can take quite a bit of time to firmly fix these veneers to the teeth. Now, new blue laser technology will enable us to fasten veneers in just seconds.

LASERS--YES AND NO...

Wouldn't it be great to get rid of that noisy "drill"! Many of you have asked about the news reports of lasers being used to prepare teeth for fillings.

We've been following the research quite closely for a number of years. In fact, we were one of the first offices to test the carbon dioxide laser over ten years ago.

Unfortunately, we've got to report that in our opinion this technology isn't quite ready for prime time. My guess is that it will be another few years until we can start preparing teeth by laser.

If ever, that is, because there is considerable concern over the vapors that are released, especially when working on teeth that have had silver fillings, which are about 50% mercury.

We'll keep you posted.

 Scared of X-rays?

Our colleague in Canada, Dr. Steve Hendry, has developed a nice

article on X-ray safety and patient concerns.

Click here (you will need to be able to read Acrobat pdf files)

And note that the figures for x-ray exposure are for conventional

dental films.  Offices using digital pictures are usually WAY lower.