Technology
Taking care of your teeth is a team effort. At home, you need to perform your routine oral health tasks, like brushing and flossing, to keep your teeth as healthy as possible. At Gardner Family Dentistry, we focus on providing optimal care through professional cleanings, routine checkups, and specialty services. To help our treatments be as effective as possible, our team is dedicated to using the dental industry’s best technology to improve diagnostics and treatment.
Our cutting-edge technology, combined with our knowledgeable dentists and patient-centered focus, gives you better results. If you have an upcoming oral health need, our team can improve your treatment and diagnostic process with our technology.
Embracing the Latest Advances in Dental Technology
At Gardner Family Dentistry, our goal is to be the best dentist in Huntsville, AL, for your needs. To help with that goal, we embrace several types of dental technology, offering these options for your care in our clinic:
Intra-Oral Camera to improve Imaging
From aligners to bridges, many of the treatments we offer require accurate measurements and images of the mouth. In the past, the best way to get these measurements was with impressions of the teeth. These impressions were not comfortable for patients, and they took time to send to the lab for the creation of any appliances.
Today, our dental team uses intra-oral cameras to quickly gather images and measurements of the entire mouth. Intra-oral cameras are small, handheld cameras that capture images and measurements from inside the mouth quickly and accurately. With a click of a button, our dental team can capture the images they need and send them directly to your chart. Not only does this improve the accuracy of our diagnostics, but it also improves the speed at which we can suggest treatments.
Some intra-oral cameras capture images, while others take 3-D scans of the mouth. Both have a role to play in your dental care, depending on the concerns you’re facing. With the introduction of intra-oral cameras, our dental team has been able to eliminate much of the need for uncomfortable impressions, without sacrificing the results our patients desire.
Cavitron for the Ultimate Clean
When you come to our practice for a routine checkup, part of that appointment is a professional cleaning. Professional cleaning involves a process known as scaling, which is the manual removal of the plaque and tartar that builds up on your teeth. In the past, scaling was done by hand using metal hand tools. Today, our dentists have another option that’s more accurate and more comfortable. That option is Cavitron.
Cavitron is an ultrasonic scaling system that uses water and sound waves to remove plaque and tartar from the teeth. This innovative system creates gentle vibrations of oscillating sound waves that loosen the plaque and tartar buildup. Once it’s loose, the system shoots water into the mouth to flush out the debris so it can be effectively removed.
This technology replaces the metal scaling tools used in the past. It’s more effective than hand scaling, removing as much as 50% more active biofilm than other types of scaling. The device can also reach areas of the mouth that can’t be treated using hand tools, including tight spaces between teeth and the corners and crevices behind and around the teeth.
Yet accuracy is just one reason why we choose this technology for our patients. Cavitron treatment is actually more comfortable for the patients. It creates less pressure and no harsh scraping sound as compared to hand scaling, so you may even find the procedure relaxing.
Because Cavitron loosens the plaque using sound waves, not manual scraping, there’s less risk of having the tools slip and poke your sensitive gum tissue. Improved cleaning combined with better patient comfort makes the Cavitron a logical choice for our practice and patients.
Digital X-Rays for More Comfort and Precision
X-rays are one of the most valuable tools a dentist in Huntsville, AL, has. X-rays give us a fast, easy look at the teeth and what may be affecting them. Yet film X-rays are cumbersome and create delays in treatment. That’s why we’ve embraced a fully digital X-ray system.
When you visit Gardner Family Dentistry for a checkup, we will likely order an X-ray using our digital system. This system provides instant access to our dental team as soon as the images are captured. The digital X-ray system sends the images directly to your patient chart, so your dentist can review them the same day we take them. This speedy delivery also means we can quickly see if an image is unclear and needs to be re-taken.
Digital X-rays mean faster answers to your oral health concerns. In addition, they use less radiation than film X-rays, adding another layer of protection for you. In fact, today’s digital X-rays use up to 70% less radiation than traditional film X-rays, making them a logical choice for your oral health checkups.
Many patients find the digital X-ray process to be more comfortable. While there is still a device to hold in your mouth, you won’t have to bite down on sharp film cards. The scanner is much less bulky, so you may not feel pinched and poked while you’re getting your X-ray.
Panoramic X-Rays for Comprehensive Assessments
Every few visits to our practice, we will recommend regular X-rays. However, sometimes we want a better picture of the overall health of your mouth. Panoramic x-rays give us that.
Panoramic x-rays are images of your mouth that capture all of the structures in one image. This picture gives your dentist a way to see all potential causes of concern in one place.
The process of capturing the panoramic X-ray is quite simple. You will enter the X-ray room and stand before the scanner. While you hold still, the X-ray device will spin around your head to capture the images. The resulting scan shows a two-dimensional picture of the teeth, upper and lower jaws, and the surrounding tissues and structures. Seeing all of the structures in one place is one of the most powerful diagnostic tools our dentists have. This X-ray can spot a wide range of medical and dental conditions, including:
- Sinus infections
- Cysts and tumors
- Impacted teeth
- TMJ disorder
- Periodontal disease
If you have advanced periodontal disease, any type of growth in the mouth, extensive cavities, or impacted teeth, we may recommend a panoramic x-ray.
Cutting-Edge Tech to Improve Your Oral Health
At Gardner Family Dentistry, we are always on the lookout for the best technology for our patients, but that’s not simply so we can have bragging rights that our office is high-tech. We want to add technology that improves the patient experience or outcome. Whether that’s through improved accuracy or a more comfortable diagnostic process, we will bring on the tech that makes your experience more positive. Every time we evaluate a new piece of tech, we’re looking at it through the lens of the patient experience.
Schedule Your Appointment Today
If you want to work with a dentist in Huntsville, AL, who invests in the technology that makes your oral health easier to achieve, then make an appointment with Gardner Family Dentistry. We look forward to showing you how cutting-edge technology and the right dental practitioners can improve your outcomes.
