Today's Techniques and Materials
X-RAYS
We appreciate your concern over radiation. X-rays are only taken when it is in the best interest of your health.It is our policy to take BITEWING X-rays once per year. These allow us to look between the teeth and under most fillings and crowns for decay or bone loss. We cannot see these just by looking.
We may also recommend a PANORAMIC X-ray once every three years. This low-dose X-ray gives us a screening of your entire upper and lower jaw. From it we can see impacted teeth, abscesses, sinus infections, tumors of the head, and other abnormalities which might otherwise be missed.
FULL MOUTH X-rays may be recommended in cases of severely compromised teeth or in patients with periodontal disease. These X-rays show us the teeth and immediately surrounding bone in fine detail.
DIAGNOdent
The DIAGNOdent
is a small portable high-tech decay detection device. It is easy to
use and provides reliable diagnosis of subsurface and incipient ( early
) cavities. The Kavo DIAGNOdent is a light probe handpiece containing
a one-milliwatt laser surrounded by a fluorescence detector which is
attached to a control unit that filters, measures, and quantifies fluorescence,
assigning a numerical readout of 0 - 99. Laser induced fluorescence
is correlated with material in cavities and the scale readings correlate
with depth and location of the cavity.
Patient benefits:
1. Early caries detection - over 90% accurate. Regular examination using
a sharp explorer and visual inspection alone is only about 35% accurate.
Used in conjunction with visual inspection of surface characteristics,
tactile sensation with a sharp explorer and the patients previous decay
history, the DIAGNOdent gives us a very high level of confidence in
the diagnosis of decay.
2. Promotes minimally invasive treatment.
3. Safe and painless
4. Enables placement of pit and fissure sealants with confidence.