 | 1. “Dexis Digital X-ray Sensor”
Our office offers state of the art digital x-rays which reduce radiation exposure by 80 to 90 percent compared to film radiographs. The sensor produces an instantaneous image on the computer screen that can be enlarged for better viewing for the benefit of both the doctor and the patient |
 | 2. “Zoom Bleaching Light”
The Zoom Bleaching light provides in office bleaching (whitening of teeth) in about an hour. The Zoom light activates the bleaching solution. |
 | 3. “Electric Hand piece” used for rotary Nickel-Titanium endodontic files to clean, enlarge and shape canals in the roots of teeth during the root canal procedure. The electric hand piece has the advantage of turning at a controlled speed and has anti-torque features that cause the hand piece engine to reverse direction when significant resistance is encountered while filing a canal with a rotary nickel titanium file thus preventing the file from breaking off. The cutting edge rotary nickel-titanium files have enable root canal treatment to be performed in a more rapid and atraumatic manner. |
 | 4. “Curing Light” by Dentsply. The curing light emits a “blue light” that has a wave length between white light and ultraviolet light. Simply put, the curing light helps cure composite fillings (white fillings) used to fill cavities or perform cosmetic bonding procedures on teeth. This revolutionary technique allows the dentist to mold and shape the composite filling and when ready polymerizes the filling with the curing light. The new generation composite materials have photo initiators (Camphorquinone is the most common one) that absorb photon energy (from the curing light wave length) and react with amine activators, creating free radicals that initiate polymerization (cause the composite material to set). |
 | 5. “Ultrasonic Scaler instrument” uses high frequency vibrations to remove primarily hardened deposits such as stain and calculus that attach themselves to the roots and coronal portions of the tooth. Ultrasonic scalers allow for rapid removal of deposits while using a water spray to cool the instrument and lavage the operating field. |
 | 6. “Root ZX Apex Finder” is another cutting edge high tech device that accurately locates the apex of a root thus speeding up the root canal process and eliminating the need for multiple x-rays being taken. Root ZX relies on electrical resistance and impedance and was introduced in 1990 by Morita of Japan and has an accuracy of up to 96 percent. This device has made doing root canal treatments in my practice a dream. |
 | 7. “Vacuform” is a device used in our practice to make bleaching trays. The Vacuform heats a sheet of plastic and then under a vacuum pressure draws the softened plastic over a stone model of teeth to make bleaching trays. This device has saved time and money in making bleaching trays. |
| 8. “Autoclave” The Tuttnauer Autoclave sterilizes our dental instruments. The autoclave vacuums air from the chamber and heats the chamber to 121 degrees centigrade under 15 pounds of high pressure saturated steam for one hour killing all bacteria, viruses and spores. |
| 9. “Bacterial Spore Strip” is used to ensure the Autoclave is properly sterilizing our instruments on a weekly basis. The Spore strip which contains live spores (Geobacillus Stearothermophilus) is placed in the autoclave and run through one cycle each week and sent to Spore Check Systems and tested. We thus far have never had a faulty test result. |
| 10. “Certificate of Sterilizer Testing” The certificate of sterilizing is presented to our office from Spore Check Systems indicating that our office is diligent in testing our autoclave to ensure our instruments are being sterilized. Spores are the most difficult form of bacteria to kill during sterilization and therefore are used to test our autoclave. Without testing there is no way of knowing whether the autoclave is performing properly. |
| 11. “Fiber Optic Handpiece Light” illuminates the working field in the mouth while drilling. This is another breakthrough technology that allows dentist to see much better and improve the quality of their work. |
| 12. “Instrument Ultrasonic Bath” allows for fine cleaning of instruments prior to sterilization in the autoclave. The ultrasonic cleans the instruments by vibrating particles off the instruments by ultrasonic waves. |
| 13. “Bagged Instruments” –All instruments in our office are bagged prior to being placed in the autoclave. Once sterilized the instruments remain safely sealed inside the unopened bags until they are ready to be used during a procedure. No instruments are stored in our office in open containers which can cross contaminate the instruments. |
| 14. “Micro Etch”-Is used to “sand blast” the teeth thereby creating more surface area. The Micro Etch is used in our office to increase retention of crowns and bonded restorations. The Micro Etch sprays fine silicate particles by way of compressed air onto the surface of the tooth. The surface area is increased by allowing the cements and bonding agents to lock into the newly increased surface area. |
| 15. “Nitrous Oxide Gas” Otherwise known as “Laughing Gas” is available to help patients to relax and increase their pain threshold. Known as conscious sedation, nitrous oxide has a hypnotic effect on patients and can increase the patient’s pain threshold at a level equivalent to morphine. The beauty of nitrous oxide gas is that it is strictly a gas that is inhaled while the mask is over the patient’s mouth and nose, but rapidly exits the lungs and blood stream once the mask is removed. The patient is sober as a judge when the mask is removed and is able to safely drive their car following the procedure. |
| 16. “Invisalign Aligners” –Invisalign technique for straightening teeth is accomplished by using clear plastic aligner trays that are removable. Each aligner is worn for about two weeks while it incrementally moves teeth during this time period. A successive aligner is placed after the two week period has elapsed and continues to move the teeth. Patients can expect to complete their orthodontic treatment in a time span of as little as 6 months or as long as 2 years. Each aligner is generated by a software program. Patients are asked to wear their aligners up to 22 hours a day. The aligners can be removed for eating, hygiene and for special occasions. The aligners have the advantage of being removable, whereas traditional orthodontic bands cannot be removed. |
| 17. “E-Max Crowns “ E-Max crowns are computer generated all porcelain crowns. They are made under the direction of computer software. Digital images are made of the tooth and transmitted to a computer. The proprietary computer software then generates instructions to a milling machine that takes a solid block of E-Max porcelain (known as lithium disilicate) and carves out a crown. These crowns are all porcelain and have much stronger compressive strengths than porcelain used on traditional porcelain fussed to metal crowns. E-Max crowns eliminate metal and thereby prevent the typical black line seen at the gingival margins when the gums recede. |
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