The dental field has undergone a huge transformation since the field's beginnings. Over time, safer and more hygienic techniques and practices have become established. Along with increasing study and knowledge of oral health, better equipment has been invented to make the patient's dental experience more pleasant, faster, and pain-free.
Modern, high-tech dental equipment has not only greatly improved the patient's dental experience, but it has enabled dentists to diagnose and more effectively treat the patient's oral health conditions. It's crazy to think that dangerous dental procedures of the past are not safe, quick, routine dental procedures today.
The use of electric drills, brushes, lasers, and x-rays have been common characteristics of modern dentistry.
Even with the use of electricity, lasers, teeth, and gum strengthening and cleaning substances and sedation options to calm and relax patients during their dental procedures, dental technology continues to improve and change.
Now, when patients go visit their dentist, their dentist will likely utilize the following:
- CEREC CAD/CAM technology
- Digital radiography
- Soft tissue lasers
- Intraoral cameras
- Surgical microscopes for a root canal treatment
- 3D study models using a jaw simulator
Benefits of Dental AdvancementsThe overall driving force behind these technical dental advancements is patient safety and comfort. Besides achieving these goals, modern, high-tech dental equipment provides the following benefits:
- Increased accuracy
- Quicker diagnosis and treatment
- Reduced amount of necessary office visits
- Reduced costs
Increased accuracy of 3D imaging, intraoral cameras, lasers, and digital x-rays allows the dentist to see inside the patient's mouth better, enabling them to more readily spot possible oral issues and get them treated quicker.
Quicker Diagnosis and Treatment
Remember the good old days when you had to wear a heavy lead apron and bite down on pieces of plastic while the dentist ran back to man the x-ray machine?
New, digital x-rays don't emit possible, harmful radiation and they don't need you to clinch pieces of plastic for what seemed like hours in order for the dentist to focus and get the best x-ray image possible.
Modern x-rays require a type of plastic wand and a computer screen to capture and display a 3D image of the patient's mouth. No more messy gagging and image re-dos because the patient moved. Modern x-ray technology won't cause patient discomfort, is quick, and gets an accurate reading and dental assessment the first time.
Reduced Number of Necessary Office Visits
In the past, if a patient needed dentures, crowns, or dental implants, one had to schedule multiple dental office appointments in order for the dental procedure to get completed.
In today's dental offices, in-house CEREC, CAD and CAM machines make crowns, dentures, bridges, and veneers right in the dental office. A patient going to a dental office with one of these machines can have their new, tooth-like restoration ready and inserted on the same day.
Reduced Costs
Modern dental technology makes a wide range of dental procedures efficient. Dentists don't have to utilize as many resources which lower the costs of treatment for patients.
The increased knowledge and best practices of dentists and improved technology now enable dentists to provide quick and relatively pain-free dental office experiences. To learn how your advancements in dentistry can help treat your dental or orthodontic issue, be sure to speak to your orthodontist or dentist.