Thursday, March 15, 2012

Technology in Dentistry

Recently I watched a presentation by marketing experts in Dentaltown that listed some of the things that new patients look for when they are selecting a dentist, and I was happy to see that one of the things they look for is whether the dentist is up to date and offers the latest technology in his office.
I don't consider miself a "gadget" person. I evaluate carefully the benefits that any particular technology or "gadget" offers and whether it is of value for me to offer it to my patients.  I don't sell "dentist recommended" electric toothbrushes, pharmaceuticals, etc... and the items I dispense I consider important and necessary for succesful surgical outcomes.
But over the years I have invested in pieces of equipment that are considered advanced technology (quite expensive also, since only a small fraction of dental offices have them) and I do dot consider them "gadgets".  Let me explain some of the benefits of some of these.
The "All Tissue Laser" :  The laser is one of those pieces of equipment that dentists say "there is nothing that I can do with a laser that I could not do with the equipment I already have".  And those dentists would be wrong.  It is true that you can do many of the same things with existing equipment, but there are procedures that are done best with the laser, such as debriding and detoxifying the surface of an infected implant, and closed (no surgical flap) osseous crown lengthening in the anterior region for more comfort and quicker. healing. These are things that you can do in other ways with existing equipment, but I argue that not as well.
Another piece of equipment that has changed dentistry tremendously is the Cad/Cam technology that allows me to offer a patient a beautiful porcelain crown designed and fabricated in my office in an average of a couple of hours, eliminating the need for impressions that sometimes elicit a gagging reflex, eliminating temporaries that may loosen and come out and avoiding the need for a second visit to cement the crown.
Sure, you can get the same crown made in the laboratory and put up with the conventional impression and the temporary and then wait two weeks to spend more time at the dentist for a second appointment, but, I believe that in the not fo far away future all dentists will have to have cad/cam systems in their office.
I could go on, but you get the point.
If you are searching for an experienced, gentle, technologically advanced dentist in West Palm Beach, please visit my website and look no further.
Sincerely,

Carlos Boudet, DDS, DICOI
Website: http://www.boudetdds.com/
Implants Blog: http://www.palm-beach-implants.com/
Spanish Website: http://www.palmbeachdentist.net/

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