What’s New

smartseal prides itself on being the most innovative root canal obturation material on the market.  Some of the latest products in other areas of dentistry that we thought might interest you include…

Air Abrasion

• Using a high powered spray of aluminum oxide powder, Air Abrasion gently and accurately removes dental decay.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. Reduces need for high-speed drill – one of the main factors which puts people off dentistry
  ii. Reduces need for local anesthesia
  iii. No vibration or smell
  iv. Completed quickly
  v. Particularly good for treating teeth in early signs of decay
  vi. Completely safe

Tissue Engineering

• A patient may need new tissue to replace tissue lost because of disease or trauma. Tissue engineering is a way of building new tissues and growing genetic material in a laboratory by replicating cells, however it is still in the fairly early stages of development.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. Means that new tissues can easily be obtained if patient lacks tissues for grafting
  ii. Great benefit for gum and bone grafting

Dental Lasers

• Using a laser beam- an intense concentration of energy into a beam of light, decay and gum problems can be treated.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. Can vaporize tissue
  ii. Removes decays painlessly and without vibration
  iii. Recently been approved by the FDA for removal of diseased of excessive gum tissues

Digital X-Rays

• Standard dental radiographs can now be replaces with digital X-rays.
   
  BENFITS:
  i. Allows x-rays to be stored and retrieved digitally (saving paper and space)
  ii. The digital x-ray image can be manipulated e.g. enlarged
  iii. Helps better and more accurate diagnoses.
  iv. Can help reduce exposure to radiation
  v. Is rapidly increasing in dentistry and predicted that very soon x-ray films will be thoroughly outdated and barely used.

Intra-Oral Computer Camera

• This is a specialised thin instrument that can be moved around the mouth to take pictures, and is increasingly being used for patient education and cosmetic dentistry.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. The x-ray can be instantly examined on a computer screen
  ii. Picture can be digitally stored for future reference and comparison (again saving space and paper)
  iii. Problems can be shown to patient quickly as can the results of treatment
  iv. With cosmetic dentistry (esp. private) the patient can preview results before the treatment is decided.

DIAGNOdent

• A small battery-powered laser assists in diagnosis of pit and fissure cavities by measuring laser fluorescence within the tooth structure. The device emits a pulsed light and since a healthy tooth does not fluoresce whereas cavity material does – the DIAGNOdent can highlight unhealthy teeth quickly.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. Over 90% accurate
  ii.  Helps identify cavities which can be very difficult to identify – small cavities can go unidentified for months.
  iii. Can prevent unnessessary preparation by avoiding “exploratory” treatment
  iv. Ideal for hygienists
  v.  Simple, fast and painless
  vi. No need for x-ray
  vii.  Visit the DISDNOdent website

Tekscan- Computerised Occlusal Analysis

• Bite interference can cause serious long-term damage e.g. tooth fracturing, bone loss, mobility etc. and can also contribute to TMD which is a disorder of the Temporal Mandibular joint (TMJ).
  Tekscan is a small computer that can detect and locate interference in your bite by looking at and assessing the balance of the occlusal forces. By measuring both biting-time and force, the system claims to be much more accurate than the less sensitive articulation paper, waxes and pressure indicator paste techniques. Tekscan has met challenge by developing T-Scan System.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. Is reliable and easy-to-use
  ii. Comes with full-features patient file management system
  iii. Helps with hygiene, initial patient exam, identifying premature contacts, increase implant longevity, establish anterior guidance, case finishing and patient education/documentation.
  iv. Visit the Tekscan website.

ViziLite

• ViziLite is a chemiluminescent light source that can help to identify oral mucosal abnormalities, which may develop in oral cancer. Normal epithelium absorbs ViziLite illumination however in abnormal epithelium leukoplakias appear white and red lesions appear darker than the surrounding tissue. Hence visibility of these abnormal regions is improved.
   
  BENEFITS:
  i. Is painless and fast
  ii. ViziLite claims “dental professionals using ViziLite in conjunction with a conventional oral screening can be confident that their patients who screen negative for pathology have a less than 1% probability of having frank oral cancer (Negative Predictive Value). “
  iii.  Visit the ViziLite website.