Advanced Dental Technology

Advanced Dental Technology

At Natural Dentist Associates, we strive to stay at the forefront of dental innovation to provide our patients the highest quality of holistic dental care. At our state-of-the-art dental facility, we offer digital xrays, intraoral photos, CBCT scan technology, digital impressions, and more. We find that incorporating these technology advancements into our treatment plans enables greater precision, high efficiency, and exceptional end results.

As dental professionals, we are always looking for new ways to enhance the patient experience and quality of care provided at our office. Our doctors and clinical staff attend regular seminars, conferences, and continued education course to remain updated on the latest advances in dental technology and treatments. We expect nothing less from the dental technology and equipment we carefully select for our practice. When choosing new dental technology to be used in our office, we look for advances that will be most effective, efficient, and complimentary to the patient’s whole-body health. Our dental team is extremely passionate about what we do, and will continue to provide the best that modern dentistry has to offer.

Digital practice management

Advanced technology has created a thoroughly seamless dental experience at Natural Dentist Associates. We understand how digital technology is integrated into our daily lives, and the same is true for our modern dental practice. From your very first encounter, you will benefit from a highly digitalized experience. Here is a look at what digital practice management looks like in our office:

• Online patient request submission
• Extended phone and email hours until 10 pm each night, 365 days a year
• Free in-office Wi-Fi and Pandora radio
• Ability to electronically send and receive digital x-rays, treatment plans, and patient files
• Paperless charts, filing, and billing systems
• Patient forms can be completed and submitted online
• Contactless payment options
• Electronic prescriptions

Intra-oral photos

While x-rays can be some of the most useful technology for diagnosing necessary dental treatment, intra-oral photos can be helpful for other purposes. It is not quite so easy to look in the mirror and see every nook and cranny in your mouth. But with the help of intra-oral photos, you can see just what your dentist is seeing. These high-quality photos can make it easier to understand exactly what your dentist is talking about, and why they might be recommending treatment. Some conditions may not be visible on an x-ray, such as shifting teeth, worn edges, or fractures, but intra-oral photos can often be taken from hard-to-see angles, helping to diagnose these conditions more accurately. Having these photographs on file helps to document changes in oral health over time, and can help monitor suspicious areas. Taking intra-oral photos creates a complete picture of your smile, and helps us to provide you with the dental care you deserve.

Digital x-ray technology

Dental x-rays are a very important part of accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. X-rays help dental professionals see what the naked eye cannot. Traditionally, x-rays were developed in a darkroom using hazardous chemicals, then viewed on a special light board. The process was uncomfortable, time consuming, and came with significant radiation exposure to dental patients and staff. Thankfully, digital x-ray technology has changed the process. For starters, digital radiography emits only a tiny fraction of the radiation – up to 90% less than traditional x-rays. With digital x-rays, a tiny sensor is placed in your mouth, creating a detailed image of your teeth in just seconds.

The increased technology allows the dental professional to rotate, magnify, and adjust contrast. The file is automatically saved to your digital patient chart, and is available immediately for electronic sharing and referrals. Digital x-rays are safe, accurate, and convenient, resulting in precise evaluations and treatment decisions.

Cone-beam computed tomography (cbct) scan

Cone beam imaging is a form of CT or computed tomography scan. CT is a scan using multiple x-rays to create a 3-D image of your tissues, including bone tissue. Each x-ray takes a flat picture of your bones, basically a representation of a section of your body. By taking many of these pictures and putting them together, a CT scan stacks these sections to make a 3-D model.

Cone beam imaging is different from traditional CT scans because it takes scans from a single point, but projected at different angles. This creates views that can give us better representations of 3-D structures allowing more precise imaging.

As an added bonus, the cone beam is able to create images with much less radiation than a traditional CT scan. The CBCT scan is the most advanced technique we have for obtaining detailed images of bone structures for use in diagnosing conditions like TMJ, Sleep Apnea, and airway issues, or checking the status of teeth that have had root canal therapy.

Itero scan

The iTero scanner is a revolutionary piece of dental equipment that provides enhanced digital scanning. By moving the attached iTero wand around the patient’s mouth and teeth, the dental professional can create a detailed three-dimensional scan in minutes. As the wand moves around each tooth, it captures thousands of images which are combined to produce an accurate visualization of the mouth on the iTero screen. This image/scan can be used in many ways to assist and enhance dental treatment, including taking and sending digital impressions, diagnosing bite issues and increased occlusal wear, Invisalign treatment result projection, highlighting treatment progress, and increasing lab turn-around times.

The iTero scanner is a revolutionary piece of dental equipment that has modernized the way we do dentistry, and progressed dental treatments such as Invisalign and dental crowns. iTero is a great tool in helping to educate patients and keep them involved during all stages of treatment.

Sleep testing

As a holistic dental provider, we look at more than “just teeth.” Because of the deep connection between oral health and sleep apnea, we are also examining the structure, development, and function of the airways and nasal passages. When the doctor sees signs indicative of a sleep disorder, she may recommend a sleep study be completed to assist in proper diagnosis. An overnight sleep study at a sleep center can be a costly and daunting task. Fortunately, technology advancements now allow us to offer a take-home sleep test that can provide the information required to diagnose a sleep disorder. The sleep test is worn overnight in the comfort of your own home, monitoring your breathing, oxygen levels, and breathing effort while you sleep.

This test can detect pauses or absence of breathing, shallow breathing, and the effort it takes for you to breathe. Once the test is completed, the results will be reviewed by a sleep specialist and sent to your doctor. This advanced technology makes sleep disorder diagnosis a quick and painless process.

Laser dentistry

Our latest and greatest addition is the Fotona Dental Laser technology. This incredible new piece of equipment creates a highly focused light energy beam. The light beam creates a reaction when it hits tissue, allowing the laser to remove or reshape the tissue. Laser dentistry offers more comfortable treatment options for many dental procedures, such as cavity detection, tooth preparations, dental fillings, tooth sensitivity, crown lengthening, gummy smile, tongue tie release, removing soft tissue, TMJ treatment, nerve regeneration, teeth whitening, and treating sleep apnea. Laser dentistry reduces the need for sutures, minimizes bleeding, promotes blood clotting, lowers chances of post-op infection, promotes healing, and decreases damage to surrounding tissues. Laser dentistry is an incredibly advanced treatment option for many dental procedure, and we are excited to offer this exciting new technology.