Humans have been performing dental work for thousands of years, but we’ve come a long way from drilling teeth with rocks. Every day, researchers are developing new innovations in the dental industry that make dental work easier, faster, and more painless. Below are just a few we’re excited about!
3D Dental Printers
At first marketed as a tool for designers and artists, 3D printers are helping to revolutionize the dental industry by helping to create custom aligners, replacement teeth, veneers, and crowns. These 3D dental printers are more commonly referred to as CEREC machines, and they are making same-day dentistry possible! In the future—or in some places, even now—you will be able to stop by your dentist, have your teeth scanned, and walk out with your new crown, veneers, or aligners. It’s an efficient process that saves weeks of waiting for the new item to come back from the lab.
Digital Dental Impressions
CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) aren’t new to the dental industry, but they are becoming increasingly important. These machines allow dentists to take digital impressions of their patients’ teeth, instead of using wax molds or clay casts. Unlike casts and molds, digital impressions cannot be ruined if the patient moves during the process, making the actual dentist appointment more efficient and the model more accurate.
Laser Dentistry
Medical practitioners already use lasers for procedures which require extreme precision (such as laser eye surgery.) Now, lasers are being used in the dental industry as well. Lasers can be used to whiten teeth, remove tooth decay, prepare enamel for a filling, reshape the gums, remove bacteria during a root canal, and destroy oral lesions. The laser makes the procedure go smoothly and eliminates the need for sutures and, in many cases anesthesia. Since the laser cauterizes and seals tissues as it goes, it shortens the healing time, eliminates blood loss, and even sterilizes the gums, making infection less likely.
Patient Management Software
Patient management software might not be as cool as some of the other innovations on this list, but it is revolutionizing the way both patients and dentists engage with each other. An online client portal lets your dentist send appointment reminders, important documents, and notes about your treatment directly to you. And, going the other way around, you can delete or move appointments without ever speaking to a receptionist; send in intake forms digitally; and do a host of other useful advantages! We at Lower Country Dental Arts have recently added a Client Portal feature to our inventory and are already seeing a vast improvement over traditional pen-and-paper communication.
Need a Charleston Dentist? Stop by Lowcountry Dental Arts
If you live in Charleston, SC or nearby and would like to schedule a dentist appointment, be sure to stop by Lowcountry Dental Arts! We can’t wait to help you achieve your perfect smile. To learn more about Dr. Geroge and the rest of our awesome team, click here.
