High Tech Dentistry

Intraoral Video Imaging

Dentistry Enters the Computer Era Perhaps you’ve heard about it from a friend or you may have seen it on the Discovery Channel; but what is Intraoral Video Imaging anyway and what role does it play in my oral examination?

Several years ago the computer industry felt that the ability to communicate was being hampered by the inadequacies of verbal communication. Most of what you listen to is either never really heard or else it is just too easily forgotten. Our goal is to inform you about your dental health so that you can make an educated decision regarding your own care. Active participation in the oral health process is a must if we are to accomplish our mutual goals.

Intraoral video imaging involves the use of a small camera with a fiber optic light source small enough to be placed within the mouth. This camera is attached to a computer which allows the images of your teeth to be displayed on the computer monitor. These intraoral images can then be stored by the computer or printed out just like a photograph.

One of the nice things about computers is their ability to store these images in their memory, indefinitely. We can access these images whenever we want in order to compare one recare examination with another. At the same time, the computer allows us to send copies of these images to other dentists or physicians thereby improving our ability to consult on issues that may be of strategic importance. A picture is truly worth a thousand words.

Some of the conditions we can see with an intraoral camera that are difficult to see with the naked eye include : various types of oral pathology and lesions, broken fillings and other types of restorations, cracked teeth, a variety of gum conditions and cavities in areas that are difficult to see and reach. You will be amazed by the quality of the images and just how diagnostic they really are.

Another intriguing aspect of imaging is its ability to use the computer to predict cosmetic alterations without ever actually having to touch a tooth. Close a space, change the shape of a tooth or just see what your teeth would look like a shade whiter. It’s all possible with Cosmetic Imaging!

Digital Radiography

How many of you while in the dental chair, have had the dentist ask you while holding the small x-ray in his hand, “do you see this little gray spot on this side of the tooth?” Many if not all respond with, Oh ya, I see it. Most of us don’t, nobody to blame. It takes a trained eye to see and read an x-ray.

In today’s day and age when computers are an essential part of our everyday lives, we have another asset to our armamentarium on diagnoses and restoring of teeth.

With digital radiography, we are able to help you the patient be exposed to less radiation that previously thought. We can increase the size of the picture; we can narrow in on the apex of the root during an endodontic (root canal) procedure. It allows me the dentist, to practice better preventative dentistry by facilitating the images which are displayed. The ability it allows us the dentist to manipulate the picture and not miss anything, only benefits you in the long term care of your teeth.