Modern Dentistry
Digital Dental Office
Not only do digital systems save paper and time, did you consider how it protects your personal information? In the future, all dental offices will be required to go chartless for this very reason. Going digital has its safety benefits too. Digital radiology means much less radiation, estimated to be 1/10th of traditional film x-rays. Taking a full set of radiographs is like being outside for 15 minutes, with sunblock.
Digital radiographs allow clinicians to use all sorts of computer programs and features to help us diagnose problems much better than just looking at small, traditional films with no tools.
At Lamorinda Dental Care, we have the ProMax S2 2D Digital Panorex panoramic x-ray machine. This super modern piece of equipment allows us to take your intraoral radiographs extraorally! Don’t be surprised if you’re due for a set of 4 bitewings and instead we use the Promax to take your bitewings instead. What this means is no uncomfortable sensor being placed in your mouth. You simply stand with your mouth closed around a small mouthguide while the machine spins around and takes your bitewings. An entire full mouth series can also be taken this way! Aside from greater patient comfort, this advanced technology virtually eliminates operator error and you will not have radiographs retaken because or a poor angle or having incorrect positioning. It is particular great for children since their mouths are small and the sensors are often uncomfortable in their mouths. Lots of times we can’t take great radiographs of children’s teeth because they don’t want to close down properly because it hurts. With the Promax, taking good radiographs of children is a piece of cake!
Modern Technology
Aside from digital radiography, Dr. Hoang has invested in a digital intraoral camera called SoproLife. Not only is it an excellent intraoral camera that can be used for patient education, it has a special feature that uses fluorescence to detect decay. This is very useful because sometimes a tooth my appear slightly suspicious to the naked eye yet a larger area of decay can be hiding just underneath an innocent appearing stain. The SoproLife is also used by Dr. Hoang to determine whether or not any decay is remaining while in the process of removing decay during a filling appointment. The camera captures images and allows for recordkeeping.
Modern Dental Materials
Sometimes patients ask how come their crown came off or how come a filling didn’t last. There are many factors, however something to keep in mind is that dental materials keep getting better and better. Here at Lamorinda Dental Care, we keep up on the latest and greatest. So if your crown has failed you before, maybe it won’t this time with modern day cements and procedures.
Modern Education
Techniques and procedures change, and that means your dentist should change with the times, too! Dr. Hoang keeps current by reading up on the latest dental literature and by attending as many continuing education courses as she can handle. She is not scared to try new things and not hung up on sticking with old systems just because they’re “comfortable”. She graduated from UCSF School of Dentistry, which means she started her career with a strong education foundation from which to build upon.