Afraid of the dentist? Dental treatment innovations will make you smile

Dentistry has quietly undergone its own digital revolution, with technological advances meaning that the traditional dental experience is now dramatically different.

The latest innovations in dentistry are making life better and easier for patients and practitioners alike, with results far surpassing what was possible with traditional methods, agrees Dr Morgan O’Gara from Blackrock Dental.

“The big, big change in dentistry in recent years is the digital pathway that is now there in all aspects of our offering, from initial planning right through to treatment options,” he says.

“Going digital has opened so many doors and made life for both the patient and the dentist easier, plus it gives the dentist more options.”

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For example, X-rays are typically taken on a routine dental visit, but now 3-D X-rays offer more information than ever before, delivering a complete understanding of what is happening in the entire mouth, O’Gara says. “These detailed three-dimensional images give us a full look at not only the patient’s teeth but their jaw and bones too.”

Intraoral cameras are also now commonplace. These tiny cameras can be popped right into the mouth to take detailed photographs. “This really aids in explaining to patients, as you can show them a really clear photograph of their tooth and show them the decay or the crack, whatever it might be.”

Anyone who has ever had a dental impression taken will grimace at the memory of their mouth being filled with the sticky, thick material. The good news? They are no more.

“Everyone thinks of those disgusting moulds that used to be taken and they are a thing of the past now,” laughs O’Gara.

Now, sophisticated optical scanners allow for a supremely accurate intraoral scan of the patient’s teeth. The result can be used for planning all sorts of treatments, from dental splints to help with teeth grinding, to making oral trays for teeth whitening. “These take about two minutes to scan the entire mouth, and they can pick up decay, pick up tooth wear, everything. We then put it up on a nice big screen so we can see everything, show the patient everything and then determine which treatment is warranted. No one liked having to have the moulds done so even that being gone is a huge bonus for our patients.”

This technology not only allows for infinitely more precision, but, importantly, saves time too – impressions may have taken a couple of appointments, for example. Other advances have significantly reduced treatment time – for example, dentists can now easily “mill” crowns on site, meaning patients just need a single appointment.

“The ceramics used to make crowns come in prefabricated blocks and now we have machines that we can use to cut the crown out of,” O’Gara explains. “This means now we can just mill crowns on the same day so if someone is having a crown done, they don’t have to have a second appointment.” Scanning also allows for “virtual” placement of an implant, so that there is much reduced scope for error.

Artificial intelligence will increasingly be used in the field, while virtual or augmented reality is being trialled as a form of pain management

3D printing is booming in virtually every industry and dentistry has readily embraced it. And wholeheartedly – a recent report suggested that the global dental 3D printing market could grow from $1.9 billion in 2020 to £8.6 billion by 2026.

This has been a major boon for dentistry, as 3D printing allows for easy and rapid manufacture of individual dental implements.

“It is now at the point where we can take a digital scan of the mouth, send it to a lab and they can quickly 3D print perfect dentures,” O’Gara says. “Dentures used to be a four- or five-appointment process, with lots of those disgusting moulds. But the main thing is that the accuracy of the scans is phenomenal so it means the fit of the dentures is brilliant.”

Orthodontics has already been transformed by the advent of the clear aligners, which have largely supplanted fixed braces or “train tracks”, O’Gara adds. “Now when you look at moving teeth you think of clear aligners such as Invisalign. This has changed the way I practise dentistry. Gone are the day of porcelain veneers – now we simply align the teeth and then use composite bonding to perfect them.”

Dentistry tends to embrace new technology at a slower pace than the rest of the healthcare industry, but there is still a plenty of innovation occurring that is advancing the field, says Dr Jeffrey Sulitzer, global chief clinical officer at SmileDirectClub. Tech savvy patients are also eager to embrace these changes.

“I’ve been a dentist for over 37 years, and the technology available has evolved and continually improved over time. Now technology powers nearly everything we do at SmileDirectClub. Our award-winning telehealth platform for orthodontia connects Irish-registered dentists and orthodontists with patients from the beginning to the end of treatment for diagnosis, prescription of a treatment plan and virtual check-ins.”

The organisation also uses 3D printing technology and automations when manufacturing custom-made aligners, and also utilises even newer technologies such as artificial intelligence to enhance treatment plans using data from the 1.8 million patients already treated via its platform.

In the case of 3D printing, dentistry was one of the early adopters, notes Sulitzer. “This is because dentistry requires high levels of customisation, as well as consistency and high quality. That’s traditionally expensive. But 3D printers are like Swiss army knives – delivering high-quality products, quickly and at scale with significant cost savings.”

This is a golden era of innovation in dentistry and new innovations will continue to come on stream to even further enhance the convenience of treatment and maximise results, O’Gara believes. Artificial intelligence will increasingly be used in the field, while virtual or augmented reality is being trialled as a form of pain management.

For patients right now, however, the main advantages are comfort, time, and efficiency, says O’Gara. “Everyone is so busy these days, the fewer appointments the better. The whole workflow is more streamlined and predictable and we can move along confidently.”