Dental Technology
State of the Art Dental Technology
Technology has improved and enhanced our lives in many ways, and dentistry is no exception. Today we can provide faster, safer, and more comfortable care, and diagnose dental conditions with a higher degree of accuracy than ever before. All this adds up to a streamlined dental experience for you and less time spent sitting in the dental chair.
At Daylight Dental, we choose the technology we invest in carefully. By staying current with all the latest advancements, we can offer our patients all the benefits that state-of-the-art dentistry offers.
Please browse through some of the technology we currently use at our Austin, TX dental office, and don’t hesitate to call us if you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment.
Intraoral Cameras
It’s important for you to be your own advocate for your oral health care, and that requires you to be informed about what’s happening in your mouth and how treatment will benefit you. Intraoral cameras are a valuable diagnostic and educational tool that our dentists use to show you what they see when they perform a visual examination.
As your dentist passes the small digital camera over your teeth, we’ll share the real-time image with you on your chairside monitor. You’ll view a magnified, illuminated image of all your teeth and gums, and your dentist can point out areas of concern so you can clearly see the problem for yourself.
The goal of intraoral cameras is to inform and educate because we want you to understand why we recommend treatment and how it will benefit you. However, we only make recommendations; the final decision about whether or not to treat the problem is always up to you.
Digital X-Rays
As part of our mission to provide you with the safest care, at Daylight Dental, we use digital x-rays that emit about 80 percent less radiation than old-fashioned film x-rays did.
Even though the amount of radiation produced with digital x-rays is minimal, we respect our patients’ safety concerns. Rest assured that at Daylight Dental, we limit the number of dental x-rays we take to those needed to accurately diagnose conditions and monitor your oral health on an ongoing basis.
Digital x-rays offer other advantages as well:
- Our dentists can’t see what’s happening inside your teeth or under your gums during a visual exam, but digital x-rays make it possible to detect conditions like cavities, gum disease, and tooth infections.
- The highly-detailed images allow your dentist to provide a highly accurate diagnosis that results in more effective treatment and better long-term outcomes.
- We can share your dental x-rays with you on your chairside monitor to give you a clear view of what your dentist sees and how treatment will benefit you.
- Digital images make it easy to securely transmit your information to insurance companies and specialists with your permission.
- With no chemicals used to produce the images, digital x-rays are safe for the environment.
Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide is a sedative that is delivered in the form of a gas that you inhale through a comfortable nasal mask. Also known as "laughing gas,” nitrous has been safely used in dentistry for decades.
Since the effects of nitrous oxide sedation are fairly mild, you won’t go to sleep during your procedure, and you will be able to respond to Dr. Fain and our team. Nitrous oxide almost immediately decreases feelings of anxiety and produce a sense of comfort and well-being. By using nitrous oxide in conjunction with a local anesthetic, our dentists can block any discomfort during dental procedures.
Nitrous oxide sedation is ideal in a number of scenarios, as there are no side effects, and the effects wears off within just a few minutes of removing the mask at the end of a procedure. Immediately after your appointment, you will feel fully alert and be able to safely drive and resume your usual daily activities.
Intra-Oral Scanner
Digital X-Rays
Digital x-rays use a digital image capture device in place of traditional film, sending an image immediately to a computer. The result is a highly-detailed image of the mouth, and its contrast and resolution can be enhanced to more easily diagnose dental problems and determine the best treatment with less radiation.