Preventive Dentistry Using Diagnodent Laser
Your teeth are very tough and but they’re not invincible. Everyday you use it to chew food. You expose it to various substances that can stain or damage it. Every time you eat or drink, you bring bacteria in to your mouth. Bacteria can eat into the teeth and cause cavities. If left untreated, you will eventually lose some teeth. But here at Ashley Family Dental, our preventive dentistry measures include the use of the Diagnodent laser to help us find even the smallest traces of tooth decay so you won’t have to worry about losing your teeth.
Standard Preventive Dentistry
The aim of preventive dentistry is to avoid dental problems. It also means finding the problems as early as possible, so that the damage to the tooth will not be as severe. The treatment for the teeth is simpler and not as costly, and they don’t take as long as well.
When you come to our clinic, our dentist will look for signs of tooth decay. He or she will use an explorer tool to look for pits and other damaged areas on the tooth. But this explorer tool is limited, as it may not help the dentist find cavities that are just starting to form.
This is why our dentists will also take x-rays of your mouth, which can uncover signs of tooth decay. The x-rays can show if the decay has advanced and has reached the pulp, which means you’ll need a root canal.
But X-rays are also limited, and they’re not so effective in detecting decay forming on the pits and valleys of the tooth. They’re more effective in finding the tooth decay in between the teeth.
The Benefits of Diagnodent Laser
For this reason, we also use the Diagnodent Laser. The Diagnodent Laser is painless, and it doesn’t cause any harm to the teeth and to the surrounding tissues. It only takes a few minutes, and the laser can scan the whole mouth. It’s used to find even the smallest areas where tooth decay has set, and is especially useful in finding decay in the pits and valleys of the tooth. Our dentist can use it to find a cavity that’s not visible to the naked eye.
You might think that cavities which can’t be seen yet aren’t really important. But they are. Even such a small area of decay can do a lot of damage to your teeth. The decay can turn inward and destroy the soft surfaces of your tooth. That’s why in some cases you may notice that your tooth has turned black. It’s being destroyed from the inside out.
With the Diagnodent Laser, cavities can be detected much earlier. That means you won’t need as many corrective measures, and the solutions for the small cavities won’t be as costly. And of course, your teeth won’t suffer a lot of damage.
How the Diagnodent Laser Works
The laser will first have to be calibrated to suit your particular tooth structure. Our dentist will then use the Diagnodent on your teeth. The device emits a laser light, and then it measures the laser light reflected by your teeth. When your tooth is healthy with no tooth decay, very little of the laser light is reflected. On the other hand, tooth decay will reflect the laser light. The stronger the light reflected by the decay indicates the severity of the tooth decay.
Laser is very safe to use and it can be used for both primary and adult teeth. The only limitation for the Diagnodent laser is if you have composite resin restorations in your tooth. The material of the composite resin can elevate the readings. That’s why the Diagnodent laser is used in conjunction with X-rays.
If you’re worried about tooth decay you can set an appointment with us. Call our Ashley Family Dental office at: (847)244-0414.
