New Dental Breakthroughs that can make things easier for you!

I returned from India a few months ago and found a lot of change especially in the field of dentistry. Dentists were now doing implants, veneers, lingual orthodontics (where the brackets are put on the back side of your teeth instead of the front so they won’t show) and many new cosmetic procedures. However these changes were mainly taking place in the metropolitan cities. In the smaller cities, things have not changed that much. In some small villages, dentists are still extracting teeth on the side of the road! But that’s life!

In stark contrast, European dentistry has advanced in leaps and bounds! I would like to share some of the new and interesting breakthroughs that have occurred in our field so you can be armed with the knowledge. Remember, these are cutting edge procedures and all the side effects are still not completely known!

OZONE!
We dentists use a drill to drill out the decay from a tooth and then restore the clean hole with filling materials. The process of drilling can be painful. So we administer anesthesia and some patients hate that even more! In 2003, some dentists in Frankfurt, Germany started using OZONE gas instead of drilling teeth to kill all the bacteria deep inside the tooth to render the decay bacteria free. A device called HealOzone generates Ozone (O3) from Oxygen (O2). The ozone gas is flowed into the tooth which is vacuum sealed with a flexible cup. The ozone then starts penetrating deep into the nooks and crannies of the cavity and virtually kills all bacteria PLUS neutralizes the acids. For large cavities, a restorative material is then used to fill up the hole. Thousands of dental practices across Europe are using this method. It is slowly becoming available in the US under the name CURAZONE! Imagine this technology if it works completely! You go to the dental office, early cavities are simply "Gassed" and Sealed and needles will be a thing of the past!

NEAR INFRARED TRANSILLUMINATION IMAGING (NITI)
Nearly every time you go to the dental office, small X-rays (called bite wing X-rays) are taken. These are used to detect cavities in between your teeth which cannot be seen by the naked eye. The X-rays show cavities because the enamel in the cavities have been demineralized by acids and show up as small black holes on the X-rays. Sometimes these holes are missed because of the angle of the X-rays and the not-so-clear contrast of black and white on the films. Plus you get an some exposure to radiation although it is very miniscule.

Now, at the University of California in San Francisco a new technology has been developed. It is called "Near Infrared Transillumination Technology” or NITI. It was discovered that near Infrared light passes through hard enamel like structure as if it was invisible and transparent. However it can detect the UNHEALTHY and DEMINERALIZED parts of the tooth .So a sharp contrast can be seen between the unhealthy and healthy parts of the tooth. No X-rays! No Radiation! They say this technology will be available for the general public very soon under the name LANTIS LASER!

There are many new breakthroughs in the fascinating field of dentistry, these are just a few. We are all fortunate to be at a stage of advancement in technology where we have lasers, computers, CAD- CAM, super optics and implants available to us all at the same time! Take advantage of this new technology and improve your dental health and the beauty of your smile!

If you have any questions, need second opinions, or are in pain and need help please call us and we will be happy to assist you with this COMPLETELY FREE .

Drs. Nagesh and Chitra Gidwani
Northside Family Dental Care P.C
North Phoenix office: 623.582.8088
Glendale office: 623.915.4545