Technology
Our advanced dental technologies allow us to detect dental abnormalities earlier and make sitting in a dentist chair with your mouth open a little more comfortable. Here are some of the technologies that help us to do that.
How Technology is Speeding Up the Healing Process
Using the Platelet Rich Plasma Our Bodies Naturally Produce
The platelets in our blood help us heal from injuries. With Platelet Rich Plasma or PRP, we’re able to cultivate high concentrations of these platelets before oral procedures like:
- tooth extractions
- periodontal surgeries
- implant surgeries
Once we do this, we can use PRP to speed up the healing process.
How We Cultivate Your PRP
Before surgery, a patient will need to have his or her blood drawn. From this blood sample, the lab will put together a platelet concentrate, which will be injected into the injured part of the mouth. It sounds unpleasant, but it’s actually genius as it’s utilizing our body’s own healing mechanism.
Benefits of PRP
With PRP, patients can experience rapid healing for complex procedures like bone regeneration of soft tissue repair. We can also readily share this information with other doctors when needed.
E-fficient Management of Your Medical Records
We all know what it’s like to keep track of papers. We don’t want to contribute to your mess or landfills, so we’ve made a concerted effort to go paperless.
E-charts and E-claims
With electronic charts (e-charts) and electronic insurance claims forms (e-claims), you’ll have immediate access to all of your medical information and you won’t have to worry about losing it.
Staying Smart
Dental medicine is constantly evolving, which is why we’re intentional about furthering our education.
Using the Latest Research to Customize Your Treatment Plan
All of our staff members have access to the Evidence-based Dental Library (ebdLibrary.com). This library contains the most current research related to oral health and technology. To ensure that our patients receive the best care, we incorporate current research into our customized treatment plans.
3D Imaging Gives Us a Very Detailed Look at Your Mouth
Before cone-beam imaging or 3D CT scans, dentists could only create two-dimensional imitations of a patient’s teeth and jaw, but these newer technologies allow dentists to take a very detailed look at the mouth.
Benefits of 3D Imaging
In generating a 3D image, CT scans and cone-beam imaging show dentists exactly
- How teeth are positioned
- Where dental problems are located
For example, when performing oral surgeries, Dr. Miller and surgical assistants can visualize where the nerves and soft tissues are, which can help our team determine how to place dental implants or determine the source of an infection.
3D Imaging Helps You Visualize What's Happening in Your Mouth
Our dental team uses these 3D images to show patients what is happening inside their mouth and educate them on how we’re going to treat it.
Digital X-Rays Are Safer and Faster
Exposing You to Minimal Amounts of Radiation
All dental x-rays expose patients to a small amount of radiation; however, newer technologies like our digital 3D x-ray machine minimize radiation exposure to 2-6 seconds, which is a very low dose of radiation.
Reducing Wait-Time
Another benefit of digital x-rays is that dentists don’t have to wait for the x-ray images to be chemically processed. Once the scan is done, it takes seven minutes for the machine to produce a 3D image. 3D digital x-rays are also easy to share with other doctors because the original scan does not have to be scanned or copied.
Making Dental Crowns In-House in One Visit
Historically, dental crowns were made when a dentist took a mold of a particular tooth, created a temporary crown, and then waited for a laboratory to send over the real one. But, now, Dr. Miller and the rest of our team can make Cerec® dental crowns in-house, during a two-hour appointment.
Creating a Dental Crown To Match Your Teeth
We use CAD (computer-assisted design) and CAM (computer-assisted manufacture) technologies to create a crown that matches the rest of your teeth.