Your Local Area - Smiles Dentist

Enjoy Your Dentists and the Dentistry Your Parents Never Had

What did your parents tell you about going to the dentist? Did they talk about how your dentists could help you take care of your teeth, gums and even your smile? Instead, they probably emphasized the negative: "It won't hurt much," or "Your toothache will be gone."

For most of us, the stories we heard about visiting dentists described how the person in the white jacket helped relieve tooth pain. We didn't hear about the dentists creating opportunities for good dental health and an attractive bright smile.

Comparing the dentistry your parents knew with the new dentistry that has emerged over the past ten to fifteen years is like comparing the computers of the 1950's with today's powerful desktop machines. The differences are vast. Yet, as dental care consumers, most of us have not updated our old stories. You haven't added new chapters about the great possibilities for dental care and dental well-being that the new dentistry offers.

You can experience these new possibilities for oral and dental health by creating partnerships with your dentists and their dental teams. You can take advantage of innovations and advances in:

• Treatment technologies and equipment
• Specialization
• New materials
• Preventive techniques
• Scientific knowledge
• Cosmetic enhancements like invisible fillings
• Integrated multi-specialty treatment teams

Today's dental care teams have the knowledge, skills and information to help create a positive dental health future. A partnership is based on communication and mutual responsibility, and you can actively foster that first communication.

You can begin to partner with your dentists and their dental care teams by:

• Asking about advancements in treatment technologies and materials.
• Finding out what steps you can take to maintain healthy teeth and gums.
• Creating a positive dental future through the recommended steps of flossing and brushing.
• Taking an active role in contacting your dentists and dental care team at the first sign of any concern about teeth or gums.
• Using your curiosity to make sure you understand the reasons for a referral to a specialist such as a periodontist or endodontist and the outcomes your dentists are seeking.

Your parents didn't have the choices or the opportunities that you have today for optimal dental health. The new dentistry can create more than a warm bright smile; it can improve your overall health.

The future of your dental health is in your hands just as the future of your bodily health is. Taking steps to increase your knowledge about the new dentistry will provide great benefits for you today and tomorrow.

By Brian DesRoches, PhD

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

New Dental Care Technology And Your Teeth

The world of modern dentistry is embracing exciting advances in technology for increased patient comfort, care, and convenience. Here are some ways dentistry is taking oral care into the new millennium.

• Air Abrasion: High-speed delivery of "blasting particles" to a decayed tooth can replace the drill in many cases. The fine stream of air and aluminum oxide provides dentists with a more precise tool for removing decay quickly, without damaging surrounding sections of the tooth. This exciting dental treatment is also a plus for patients because it normally doesn't require any local anesthesia. While air abrasion may not be suitable for large areas of decay or the removal of silver fillings, it can be used to repair tiny cracks, remove stains, and smooth the tooth surface so that bonding materials adhere to the tooth.
• Intra-oral Cameras: A tiny camera inserted into the patient's mouth allows the dentist to show the patient the exact nature of the problem. The image is enlarged and sent to a monitor that the patient and doctor view together. When patients can see the specific area in need of treatment, they're more likely to understand and accept the dentist's recommendation.
• Lasers: Research continues at a fast pace in laser dentistry. Lasers have been used for years in a limited capacity, but their role in oral surgery is likely to increase.
• Digitized X-rays: Computerized technology will allow a small sensor inside the patient's mouth to take the X-ray and immediately display it on a computer screen, eliminating film and darkroom processing, and reducing the radiation exposure for the patient.
• Computers: There is a growing recognition of the role that computers can play in dental care. In the future, patient records may be kept on computer disks, including visual images captured on intraoral cameras. A computerized workstation beside the patient's chair will give the dentist the ability to view the patient's history from disk. The dentist might also use a voice-recognition system to ask the computer to assist in finding that data, or generate a "before and after" image so the patient can preview the result of dental treatment before it is done.
• CD-ROM: Patient education will be a snap with information stored on CD-ROM. Procedures can be explained to patients in advance and post-operative instructions can be provided for them to take home.

With a new hi-tech face on modern dentistry, patients can look forward to a new face in dentistry and greater comfort with more byte!"

By Brian J. Gray, DDS, MAGD, FICO

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.