Our Technology

SEDATION

What if you could have all your dentistry that you have been putting off for years in the conventional dental office in one or two comfortable visits?

What if you could finally receive all of the treatment while sleeping- free of fear and pain?

We specialize in Sedation Dentistry and Sleep Dentistry, treating people with dental phobias and anxieties We offer different types of sedation dentistry. These include administering oral sedation, a pill, nitrous oxide (laughing gas), and intravenous sedation to deliver a combination of drugs. All this depends on the needs of the patient.

In this way the patient and the dentist are comfortable providing and receiving the best possible dental care-safe, and free of stress and pain.

What is Sedation Dentistry or Sleep Dentistry?

The patient is given oral medication about one hour before your appointment. The medicine puts you in a light state of sedation and you sleep thru your dental appointment. It is Safe! When you awaken your dental treatment is completed.

You need someone to drive you to and from your appointment. Once you arrive, you are allowed to rest comfortably in a warm, quiet room under a cozy blanket. During the entire time you are here, we will closely monitor you to ensure your safety.

Complex dental treatments that often require six or more appointments can be done in as little as one!

1. Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous Oxide, known to many as laughing gas, is the most commonly used form of sedation in dentistry. It is administered by having the patient inhale the gas, which is carefully monitored by your doctor. You will fall into a euphoric state and feel completely relaxed. All feelings of fear and anxiety fade away, leaving you to sit back peacefully while your dental procedure is performed. In most cases all dental work can be completed in one visit while you are sedated.

 

Nitrous oxide sedation is very safe and effective. Once the procedure is over the nitrous oxide will wear off fairly quickly, and you will probably be able to drive yourself home and return to your daily activities.

2. Oral Sedation

Advantages of Oral Sedation

  • Easy to administer: Your dentist will prescribe a pill for you to keep you calm during the procedure. Oral sedation is the easiest sedation of the three because all you have to do is swallow the pill an hour or so before your appointment, and you’ll be feeling relaxed by the time you arrive.
  • No needles: Many patients that are afraid of the dentist also have a fear of needles, which are used when administering IV sedation. With oral sedation, however, the patient can take the sedative orally before the appointment without having to worry about being pricked by the dentist.
  • Amnesia: The strong dosage of Benzodiazepines causes patients to have little to no memory of the procedure. This is great for patients suffering from dental fear because they’ll have no recollection of what went on while they were sedated.
  • Safe: The oral sedatives are all regulated by the FDA, so it’s extremely unlikely for you to experience any dangerous side effects.
  • Responsive: Although you may feel drowsy with pill sedation, you’ll still be awake and responsive. Since you’re awake during the procedure, you’ll still be able to listen and respond to your dentist’s.

3. IV Sedation

We’ve partnered with anesthesiologists from Advanced Dental Anesthesia to provide general anesthesia for our patients that need complex procedures and cases.

What you can expect:

  1. Pre-Operative Evaluations:Before your scheduled appointment you will complete a medical questionnaire regarding patient medical history, current medications, surgical and anesthesia history, allergies, and additional health questions that may have an impact on your anesthetic care. On the day of your appointment, your  Anesthesiologist will conduct an airway assessment and physical exam followed by a thorough pre-anesthetic assessment.
  2. State-of-the-Art Monitoring: During the procedure, the patient will be continuously monitored using state-of-the-art monitoring equipment in accordance with the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) guidelines.  The monitoring equipment includes NIBP (non-invasive blood pressure), pulse oximeter (oxygen saturation of blood), EKG (heart rate and rhythm), respiratory rate, temperature, and capnography. The anesthesiologist will continuously monitor the patient’s vital signs during the dental procedure and through recovery. Emergency medical equipment equivalent to that carried by the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) is provided during every sedation procedure.

  3. Individualized Anesthetic Plan:     Each patient will receive an individual, customized anesthetic plan based on the information recorded by the anesthesiologist during his focused physical exam and patient medical history. According to the anesthetic plan, medications will be selected for safety and comfort, allowing the sedation to be tailored to the needs of each individual patient.

 

PANOREX

A panorex is a very impressive piece of imaging machinery in that it is capable of identifying many issues and structures that a normal x-ray is not. Initially you will sit in a chair with your chin on a small ledge. Once positioned in the machine, it will rotate around your entire head taking a full 360 degree view of the teeth, head, sinuses and bones.

The ability to view the full structure of your head as a whole is very informative to the dentist. It will allow us to see any potential problems and make sure that everything is functioning as it should be. The panorex is capable of viewing specific types of structural problems, infections or asymmetry among many others.

DIGITAL X-RAY

Digital x-rays are quickly becoming adopted by a large percentage of the dental industry. A digital x-ray allows the dentist to take an image of the tooth or teeth and put it into an imaging program. Within this imaging program, there are a number of tools that will allow the dentist to take a very close look at the teeth and surrounding structures with amazing accuracy. As a benefit to the patient, the digital x-ray also provides nearly 80% less radiation than a standard x-ray. This is due to the fact that the digital version of the x-ray is much more sensitive to this radiation and has been specifically designed with the patient in mind.

ORAL CANCER SCREENINGS

Oral cancer screenings are a very important part of the dental visit for the patient. With the advances in modern technology, we are now able to pinpoint the start of a potential problem much earlier in its evolution. The ability to do so is extremely important in being able to treat any issues prior to them becoming a major irreversible problem.

The oral cancer screening is often completed with an ultraviolet light or similar device that allows us to view issues that can’t always be detected by the human eye under normal conditions.

Certain lifestyle choices can have a great impact on the health of tissues and your overall health in the mouth. If you are a smoker or heavy drinker, make sure to get regular screenings when you visit the dentist.

INTRAORAL CAMERA

The intraoral camera is an amazing diagnostic tool for viewing different angles in the mouth that we would not have been able to just a few years ago. The camera gives us the ability to view the entire mouth on a monitor so that we can get a closer look at any potential issues or problems that may arise. In addition, the patient will have the ability to see for themselves first hand the same images we are seeing. These digital images are also excellent for gaining procedure acceptance from insurance companies.

ROTARY ENDODONTICS

Endodontics, more commonly known as root canal, is a procedure where the roots or nerves of the tooth are removed. This is often due to the fact that they are infected and the tooth is causing pain.

Rotary Endodontics is a way of performing the root canal utilizing a specific electrical handpiece. This tool often makes the process faster and allows the dentist to perform the process with greater ease.

ELECTRIC HANDPIECES

There are basically two types of handpieces, air-driven and electric. Electric handpieces are much stronger than air-driven due to the fact that a motor is spinning the bur as opposed to air.  This allows the doctor to remove decay at a faster pace.  This will cut down on the time it takes to complete a procedure.