A Crucial Part Of Caring For Your Oral Health Is Having The Tools To Do So

An intraoral camera provides an accurate view into the state of your teeth and gums. With this technology, a slender, pen-sized camera is slipped into the mouth so that both you and the doctor can see underlying problems with your teeth and gums. The camera transmits images to a monitor for easy viewing. When you need a procedure to improve the health of your teeth, Drs. Meester and Olafsen can explain the treatment to you with ease, using your own mouth as the model.

Perio Protect® is a prescription solution that can help you control the growth of the bacteria that causes gum disease, in the comfort of your own home. Perio Protect® uses a custom dental tray to deliver the solution to your periodontal pockets, decreasing pocket depth and bleeding of the gums. Drs. Meester and Olafsen may recommend Perio Protect® to preserve the health of your gums between periodontal maintenance visits, as an additional treatment for early periodontal disease, or to prepare for gum disease treatment. When used before gum surgery, Perio Protect® can reduce the number of bacteria in the mouth, minimizing the likelihood that the bacteria would move to the bloodstream.

It is our goal to help you maintain and improve your oral health. To help us achieve this goal, the dental care that you and your family receive in our office always includes state-of-the-art equipment. Among the newest technologies is a small laser instrument called the DIAGNOdent, which scans your teeth with harmless laser light searching for hidden decay.

Locating hidden decay before it destroys tooth structure (from the inside out) is a major goal for modern dentistry. The widespread use of fluoride supplements in dental materials, toothpastes and drinking water has made tooth surfaces harder and more resistant to decay. However, diagnosing cavities beneath the hard surfaces is more challenging because the disease process can start through microscopic defects in the hard surface enamel and can readily spread into the softer tooth structure beneath the surface. X-rays and probing with an explorer are limited in detecting sub-surface decay, particularly when the cavity is in its early stages. Fortunately, the new DIAGNOdent is a major breakthrough that allows the dentist to monitor the areas below the hard surfaces. The DIAGNOdent allows the dentist to locate hidden decay, and with treatment stop the spread of disease before it destroys the tooth from within.

This unique instrument provides instant feedback on the health of the tooth. A pen like probe simply glides over tooth surfaces constantly checking the health of the tooth. A number scale and an alarm signals the operator when there are signs of hidden decay. This new technology is completely safe and pain free as only the laser light ever touches the tooth.

Air abrasion is a relatively new technology intended to replace the dentist's drill and the need for anesthesia in certain procedures. This can make restoring a cavity much less of an ordeal for young patients and people who dread noisy drills and injection anesthesia.

In the procedure, a small, precisely controlled stream of compressed air is blended with a super-fine abrasive powder and is gently propelled toward the tooth with a special handpiece to remove decay. The decay is then "vacuumed" away through suction. Finally, your dentist will fill the cavity with a nearly invisible non-mercury filling, making the entire tooth strong. Sometimes called "micro dentistry" or minimally invasive dentistry (MID), air abrasion enables your dentist to remove very small areas of decay while conserving healthy tooth structure.

Benefits of air abrasion would include:

• Eliminates the need for drilling and injections
• Noiseless and odorless
• Reduces or eliminates vibration, heat and pressure
• Enables treatment of decay at earlier stages because less tooth structure is removed
• Requires less time in the dental chair that conventional drilling
• Enables your dentist to remove very small areas of decay
• Allows use of smaller fillings that conventional drilling
• It is less invasive.

If you would like more information about this procedure, pleas contact our office.

The K7 Evaluation System is a set of diagnostic tools to help measure neuromuscular activity and helps our doctors identify points of interest that require attention, leading to the eventual treatment of TMJ/CMD/TMD.

The Biolase iPlus is a dental laser that we use for many soft tissue procedures, such as gingivectomies, soft tissue contouring, gummy smiles, periodontal treatment, and more. By using a dental laser, we are able to perform procedures with more predictability, effectiveness, and in less time with less complications. Dental lasers are great for patients that have dental anxiety, because they enable us to provide a much more comfortable experience as well.