Cincinnati Smiles.com | General Dentistry for Adults and Children

One of our goals is to provide our patients with the most modern dental technology and the highest quality treatment. We always evaluate each new advancement by looking at the research studies behind it. If the new equipment measures up, we purchase it. But that's not always the case. We will explain our evaluations of new technology in 'other advancements' at the end of this section. Hope you enjoy learning about 21st Century Dentistry.

X-rays are part of every dentist's comprehensive examination. Without them, we miss valuable information about teeth and the surrounding jawbone. Many patients are concerned about radiation, and rightfully so. Radiation can have a cumulative effect in the body, eventually contributing to the formation of cancer cells. That is why we have used lead shields for decades and that is why we walk out of the room when an X-ray is taken. Now there is a way to further reduce your risk of radiation - by taking X-rays through a computer.

You can see the image displayed on a monitor.
The image can be magnified hundreds of times for detailed inspection.
Contrast can be applied to see details more readily.
Your image can be sent via modem to any specialist in the world for a consultation. - instantly!
No waiting for film to develop. Less time in the dental chair for you.
No chemicals to develop these X-rays. More friendly for the environment.
X-ray can be displayed in color so that you can understand it better.
You can receive a print out of your X-ray, if desired.
Can make certain procedures, like root canal therapy, easier and faster.
Cost is the same as a conventional X-ray and insurance benefits are the same.

For further information, you can read about Dr. Bob's use of CDR in an article by Sue MacDonald in the Cincinnati Enquirer. Ask our business assistants for a copy.

This technology has arrived in many dental offices. An intraoral camera allows us to put color pictures of your mouth on to a computer screen. You can then see, enlarged and in full color, a photo of your dental problem. This allows you to understand fully why treatment is needed. Also, since this is linked with our digital X-ray, we can send pictures of your mouth through a modem, as well, for consultation with another dentist or a university researcher.

We can magnify several hundred times for better diagnosis, allowing us to detect problems before they become serious.
Stress fractures in teeth can be detected early and treated before they penetrate the nerve and require root canal therapy.
Early stages of gum disease can be seen more easily with magnification.
Allows patients to understand their dental condition and this seems to make many patients more comfortable.
Gives the dentist a better view of difficult-to-see areas of the mouth, both during diagnosis and treatment procedures.
Images can be stored with patient records, can be sent via modem, and can be printed out for the patient to keep.
These intraoral photos seem to make dentistry less mysterious and they seem to make patients more relaxed.
Can be useful in planning treatment, including cosmetic changes in the front teeth.
Photos can be sent to insurance companies to validate treatment decisions.

We evaluate every new technology in dentistry by several standards: valid published research studies in scientific journals, cost-effectiveness, and durability. We try to decide if this new advancement is a fad or if it will stand the test of time. Often we delay purchasing new equipment until it has been in the mainstream of dentistry for several years. Sometimes what manufacturers claim as wonderful technology becomes a dismal failure one or two years later. All that glitters is not gold. We believe that whatever we do in our patients' mouths should be tested, reliable, and should be something we would do in our own mouth. This philosophy has stood well over Dr. Bob's 25-year career in dentistry. The following is a commentary of new technology that is available. Some we use now; some we don't use; and some we will probably use in the future. We will make updates to this page, as new research becomes available. We try to evaluate each item from a consumer's standpoint as well as from a dentist's perspective.

We used to think that these were a waste of money and no more effective than manually brushing. However several years ago, research studies showed that electric brushes did a better job. We now recommend the Rotadent electric brush, which we rate as the best on the market. It features two brushes for easier manipulation into hard-to-reach spots. For decay-prone patients or patients who have had extensive gum surgery, this brush is essential. For the person with minimal decay, using a manual brush is fine.

This was a big issue several years ago and many dentists got on the bandwagon. Now 3-M, the main manufacturer of these devices, has stopped producing them. How about that! Obviously 3-M wasn't selling enough to make a profit. But, the ironic thing is that the device works ... and it is very beneficial for some patients. We still have a fair supply of the pads left and, through advice from a researcher friend, we have found a similar technique that will work. For a more detailed description, click here.

This is one of the best techniques for producing profound numbness. It works nearly 100% of the time. It's not new but was 'forgotten' for many years and came back into the dental limelight around 1986. It involves the use of a special pressure syringe that delivers the anesthetic directly to the tip of the root. This practically guarantees the dental phobic that he or she will not have any pain during drilling.

Other methods have come along but none are as cost-efficient and as effective as this one. One of these involves stabbing through the bone to deliver the anesthetic and another involves using a computer-delivery system, based on body temperature. The former can be painful and the latter is neither cost-effective nor any more efficient than conventional anesthesia.

These offer promise and Dr. Bob has been watching them closely since they came on the market several years ago. They cannot do anything that our present techniques can't do. If they could drill teeth painlessly, every dentist would have one. But only a small percentage of dentists own a laser today. Why? They are very expensive and they are not cost-effective. In fact, at a recent seminar, a researcher showed that using a laser for bonding in teeth was actually bad since it cured the material too quickly and prevented a good bond from forming. But some 'experts' still recommend using a laser to bond teeth. Time will tell and, if the bond is not done well, restorations will become sensitive to cold and hot and will ultimately fail within a few years. Lasers are also used for procedures on the gums and to bleach teeth. They do bleach teeth quickly: in thirty minutes or so. Instead of using a custom mouthguard for two hours a night for two weeks, you can have your teeth bleached in a half-hour. Is it worth paying two or three hundred more dollars? For some Madison Avenue excutive-types it probably is, but for the average consumer it is probably not. For more information on bleaching, click here.

We are strongly considering adding this technology to our office. Initially, these units required extensive training and were difficult to operate, often breaking down. With refinements on software, the systems are now becoming easier to use as well as being more cost-effective. The concept is simple. This computer program allows the dentist or assistant to take a picture of your smile, make changes to the teeth digitally, and display your new smile on the monitor screen so that you get an idea of what cosmetic dentistry could accomplish in your mouth. When the software systems improve to the point where this could be done in a few minutes, we'll add this technology to our office. It'll be here soon.

This is a system that offers a whole array of dental subjects that you can view on a television screen. In fact, they even have their own T.V. program called The Smile Channel. The early versions of this system were not very well done, although it was a great concept. Newer editions have images that are much clearer and the whole system is easier to use. They plan to add a website with the same information. We are watching this patient education system and will probably add it to our office.

Air abrasion is a method of drilling that is supposed to be painless. It sounds good. Air abrasion is a device that delivers a stream of abrasive particles, much like sand, under high pressure. It can be used for small cavities and for certain other applications. It is being used by a number of dentists to fill small pits in teeth that normally require an inexpensive sealant. Some pits in adults require no treatment at all. The manufacturers of these units try to make the dentist think that he or she will make more income by using air abrasion on these small pits. Actually, a conventional dental handpiece, using a very small diamond drill, can accomplish the same thing as air abrasion: cleaning out a small pit. However there are many things the drill does that air abrasion cannot do. Therefore we still need the conventional drill in dentistry. In our office, we have a small air abrasion unit but we prefer to place sealants in small pits since that represents conservative and cost-effective dentistry.