At A Family Dentist, we put patient comfort first. It seems that nearly every day we see remarkable advances in technology that allow dentists like Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Anthony to ensure comfortable, efficient care and deliver successful, predictable outcomes.
As you browse through the technology we offer, remember that, while we are proud of the state-of-the-art equipment, the compassionate care we provide wouldn't be possible without the attention of the dedicated people who make up our professional team.
Please don't hesitate to call us if you have questions!
Digital Impressions
Even those who don't mind dental visits are not fans of the impression paste that most dentists use when preparing restorations. It's messy and uncomfortable, and you have to keep your mouth clamped shut around a big metal tray while you wait for the material to set. If the results weren't accurate, the process would need to be repeated.
If this is one of the aspects of dentistry that you dread, you will be happy to know that today there's another option that's not only easier but also produces more reliable results. At A Family Dentist, we have invested in state-of-the-art digital impressions that do away with the entire uncomfortable process.
Taking digital impressions couldn't be easier; our doctors simply direct an intraoral wand over your teeth to capture the impressions. Digital impressions improve your comfort, provide more accurate results, and aid in productivity. Since the impressions are digital, we can email them directly to a dental lab rather than sending stone models by snail mail. At A Family Dentist, one of the ways we use digital impressions is to make our same-day CEREC restorations.
CEREC Same-Visit Crowns
Getting a traditional lab-fabricated crown typically requires at least two visits, multiple injections, messy impressions, and wearing a temporary crown for at least two weeks while you wait for your final restoration to be finished. It's a reliable process that's been used for decades, but we offer our patients a less complicated and faster way to get restorations by using CEREC same-visit crown technology.
When you choose a CEREC restoration, the first step is to prepare the tooth to receive the crown. Next, we take a digital scan of your teeth that replaces the messy impressions used for lab crowns. The scan allows our doctors to create a virtual 3-D model of your teeth that they use to design your new restoration using state-of-the-art CEREC technology. Once we design the crown, we send the information to a machine in our office that mills your crown out of a block of porcelain. In just a couple of hours, you will leave our office with your brand new restoration cemented securely in place.
Of course, we also offer traditional lab-fabricated crowns and will be happy to help you decide which is the best choice for you.
Intraoral Cameras
Have you ever sat through a dental exam and wondered what it is that your dentist and hygienist see and how they make their diagnoses? At A Family Dentist, we solve the mystery by using intraoral cameras to share with you exactly what we see when we examine your mouth.
An intraoral camera is shaped like a small pen with a light that illuminates the inside of your mouth. The images it captures are displayed in real-time on your chairside monitor so you can see exactly what we see. You no longer have to guess what's going on; we can point out areas of concern and explain in detail what's happening and how treatment will benefit you.
We can capture individual images and save them as part of your permanent patient record so they can be used for future reference and to send to insurance companies and specialists as needed.
Digital X-Rays
Many of our patients have valid concerns about the number of dental x-rays that they have taken and their exposure to radiation. We understand this, so we are proud to use digital x-rays that expose our patients to about 80 percent less radiation than film x-rays and also offer diagnostic and educational benefits.
Digital x-rays provide highly detailed images that help us detect conditions like decay and gum disease in their earliest stages. Like any other health issue, early treatment always results in the best outcomes, and digital x-rays allow us to catch and treat problems before they damage your teeth and compromise your long-term oral health.
We also value digital x-rays for the educational opportunities they provide; we can share the detailed images with you so we can point out areas of concern and explain why treatment is necessary and how it will benefit you. It's much easier for you to understand your needs when you can see the problem for yourself.
Digital x-rays also become a part of your permanent patient record, so we can refer to them easily or send them to specialists or your insurance company as needed. And since digital x-rays require no harmful chemicals, they are safer for the environment.