Get savvy with Dr Sarah
They’re waiting for you on Airsmile
Dr. Sarah explains everything you need to know
about digital dentistry services at the dentist
We truly live in a digital world. Everything is online, and everything is done with computers nowadays. It is no strange feat that the digital world has reached the dental industry. Digital dentistry is the newest trend in the field, and most dentists around the world are trying to adopt digital technologies, and integrating them in their daily work for one simple reason. Digital technology is here to stay.
In the old days, diagnosis relied mainly on the experience of dentists and great vision, but no more. Of course, experience comes into play, but most dentists nowadays rely on digital technologies to make the process easier. Examples include:
a. Digital X-rays:
X-rays of old were faulty at best. The film must be placed in the proper position in the mouth, and exposed to just the right amount of radiation, as well as developed with great care to create a good image. Computers took care of all that. Modern X-rays are directly wired to computers, meaning no development errors, and much less exposure to radiation. In addition, the image can be manipulated on the computer, so no need to repeat the X-rays if the film comes out darker or lighter than needed.
b. Intraoral cameras:
Photography is a big part of modern dentistry. Intraoral cameras are not new to the field but have risen from being a luxury to a necessity. They serve 2 main purposes: 1. Educating patients on what is wrong with their teeth – visually rather than verbal explanation – making taking care of their teeth and giving advice much simpler. 2. Comparison of before and after pictures of various treatment options.
Perhaps the branch which was most impacted by the digital world is the restorative branch, including fillings, dentures, and crowns. Examples include:
a. CAD\CAM technology:
One of the latest technologies to enter the field. CAD\CAM stands for computer-aided design\ computer-aided manufacturing. Simply put, this system uses highly specialized computers to design various restorations. These computers then give orders to special milling machines that mill that design from a block of metal, zirconium, or porcelain. Not only that, but good ole fashioned impressions taken by the gooey impression material are a thing of the past, giving way to a very accurate camera. The whole assembly makes all these restorations far more accurate, and far quicker to manufacture. You no longer have to wait a few days for the lab to finish your crown, because that system can finish it within a couple of hours while you wait at the clinic.
b. 3D printers:
These work with the same principles as CAD\CAM milling machines, only instead of milling the restoration from a block, it is 3D printed. This makes the process easier and cheaper, although less accurate in some cases. 3D printers are mostly used with dentures rather than crowns or bridges and are still under a lot of development.
You might be surprised how digital technologies integrate with orthodontics, but they have come together to create one of the most popular and in-demand treatments of today’s world, that is clear aligners.
Invisalign is one of the greatest technologies to grace the field, and it is entirely digital. After taking the impressions (either the old-fashioned way or with cameras), they are sent to the lab, and the data is inserted into a computer. That computer formulates the entire treatment plan from A to Z, and integrates with a milling machine to form a group of plastic, transparent molds called aligners, that pressurize the teeth into moving where we desire them.
Clear aligners look better – almost invisible in fact –, are far more accurate since computers are involved, faster-acting, and finally, can be removed at will, making oral hygiene and teeth cleaning a lot easier compared to traditional fixed braces.
Most of these technologies are fairly new, and therefore most are still working out the bugs and kinks. Most of them are quite accurate, but since they are new, that accuracy is yet to be tested in the long run.
That being said, perhaps the greatest problem with the digital trend is its cost. All of these technologies come at a heavy price, but they sure are worth it.
Digital dentistry is the most modern trend in the dental field. It includes a group of technologies that rely on computers, making diagnosis, treatment planning, restorations and other aspects of dentistry easier, more convenient and more accurate. Examples of digital dental technologies include digital x-rays, CAD\CAM technology, 3D printers and Invisalign.
Most modern dentists have adopted some (if not all) of these digital technologies, so finding one close to you is not difficult. The real problem is the “affordable” part. It is no secret that all these technologies are expensive; However, some dentists would adopt a comfortable treatment plan, helping you make the payment process easier so that you can benefit from these amazing technologies.
Explore More Dental Treatments & Their Costs.
Digital dentistry is a term describing a number of technologies that utilize computers in their process. Computers go into everything these days, and manufacturers of dental equipment and materials have caught on to that fact, trying to keep up with the ongoing trends. Digital technologies have an impact on almost every branch of dentistry, starting from diagnosis and treatment planning, to restorative procedures, to implants and even braces.
