HI-TECH DENTISTRY - The field of dentistry that utilizes the advanced technology available.

When we speak of hi-tech dentistry, we are referring to utilizing the advances that science has made that allow us to better serve our clients. Through these new technologies, we not only can provide better service, but also, we can often do it faster and more efficiently. In this section, we will discuss some of these technologies that are available. For the sake of using a time frame, if this technique wasn't being done routinely twenty years ago, we will discuss it here.

COMPUTERS - These are generally used at the front desk for running the dental practice.

The dental practice management computer. Today, the dental office that offers WINDOWS based technology often will integrate some type of capacity to do treatment planning, insurance estimates, accounting, as well as appointment scheduling. At our office, we use the DENTRIX computer system. This system offers all this and more. It is Y2K compliant and the software was recently updated to it's newest version - bringing us the latest in dental claims processing, patient education, insurance processing and scheduling. We are currently starting to utilize it for emailing our clients there dental appointments, as well as scheduling online. This is partly why we offer a WEB PAGE for our clients, not only to learn more about us, but also to learn more about what services we can provide to them.

CEREC CADCAM 3D- This machine is used for creating all PORCELAIN crowns in ONE VISIT.

The CEREC computer and milling machine. We are proud to offer the latest technology of being able to produce a crown for our patients in about one hour - in a single visit! Thanks to new technology from SIRONA DENTAL, we can take an optical scan of the unprepped tooth prior to doing a crown and then take an optical impression of the tooth after we have prepared the tooth.This can all be done without having to sit wih an impression tray in your mouth for 3-5 minutes and using the data that the machine gathers, along with input from the dentist, we are able to produce the crown for our patient immediately chairside instead of having to send an impression to the lab and make a temporary crown and wait two weeks for a crown in most cases. In more complicated aesthetic cses or invovled bridges, we will still use our labs, however, it has allowed us to do 80% of our crowns IN THE SAME DAY at the SAME VISIT. This saves the patients a lot of extra work and also us. For more info on this technology see CEREC CROWNS.

INTRA-ORAL CAMERAS - These are great for helping us with our diagnosis and treatment plans.

The dental intra-oral video camera. This is probably one of the most useful tools that we have for assisting us when we are doing our New Patient Exams. It allows us to see back behind the teeth and it displays the picture on the 20 inch monitor in front of us, so that we can discuss it with you. Frequently, we will make a copy of the picture for either before and after pictures, or for sending to insurance companies to assist in claims processing.

LASERS - These are generally used during a procedure or in addition to conventional treatment.

The dental laser. The dental laser has opened a whole new area of treatment available to dentists. Currently,we have three different types of lasers at our office. We use them for hard tissue applications (cutting tooth structure and trimming bone), soft tissue applications (gum trimming and periodontal pocket cleaning) as well as teeth bleaching applications. We have had success in using these lasers for periodontal treatment, helping to heal areas after surgery, stop bleeding in areas where there is tissue trauma, as well as desensitize teeth. While there are more than a dozen different types of lasers available on the market today, our office was the sixth office in California to own the particular dental laser that we have and we have been successfully treated over one thousand teeth with it.We have been using dental lasers since 1989. In addition to using it for treatment during dental procedures, we have found that it has also been effective in the treatment of apthous ulcers, canker sores, and even trigeminal neuralgia. The laser can not be used to drill out amalgam fillings efficiently, nor can it be used to quickly prepare a tooth for a crown since it consists of a beam of light! It can be used for small cavities and for sealing grooves or dentin removal. MORE INFO HERE on the WATERLASE.

AIR ABRASION CAVITY PREPARATION SYSTEM - This technique allows us to reduce the amount of drilling that we do.

The micro air-abrasion technique for cavity removal. The drill has been the one instrument in the dental office that for the past twenty years, scientists and medical technologists have been trying to remove from the office! This is the first time that an instrument has captured the eyes of many dentists. It is priced less than a laser, is much easier to use and has less heat build-up, friction or stress on the tooth than the drill. Since it doesn't cut quite as fast as a drill and since it is a spray, not only is it a little messy to use, it cannot be used to get under or behind small areas as easily as a drill. It is wonderful for drilling out the old composite (white) fillings, which it does more conservatively than the drill, and possibly faster. This is the one area that we tend to use this tool the most. This instrument looks like a tiny sand blaster that shoots out a precise flow of aluminum oxide particles (which are safely suctioned up during the procedure). They allow us to pinpoint a stain, or small area of decay without having to drill out more tooth structure than necessary. It is great for a conservative treatment and it is comfortable too.We often use it in conjunction with our standard drill to help minimize the amount of actual drilling.

PATIENT EDUCATION SYSTEMS - These assist us in explaining treatment thoroghly.

The CAESY Dental Education System . They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well this system is worth even more than that. We purchased a DVD system for educating our patients on everything from New Patient Exams, to post-surgical recommendations, implants, veneers, and bleaching, to explaining the difference between a porcelain crown and an gold crown. This tool is available in each of our operatories so that our patients can access it whenever we feel it would be beneficial to go into further detail on a subject.

COLOR CORRECTED OVERHEAD LIGHTS - These assist with cosmetic procedures.

The overhead light system . This may not be as high-tech as the other equipment, however, we have found that by utilizing special "full-spectrum" light bulbs in our operatories, we are better able to offer more accurate color matching for crowns and composite fillings than if we only used fluorescent bulbs (which are about one-third the cost). We have been using this system for over twelve years and is worth it to us to allow you to have the better aesthetic result that can be achieved from doing this.