Five Innovations Your Dentist Uses to Make You Feel at Ease

Dentistry, a Patient Centric-field

Photo by Jeremy Cai on Unsplash

The dentist’s chair is one that we are all familiar with. But did you know that every dentist's office is filled with constantly innovative tools to help patients feel at ease? As a patient-centric field, dentistry is in a constant state of evolution, with products changing at a rapid pace to keep patients comfortable the next time they’re told to “open wide.”

Within healthcare, dentistry has a uniquely tight innovation cycle that enables dentists to share feedback directly with manufacturers to quickly innovate products to meet the needs of dentists and patients. At Premier Dental, this cycle serves a vital role, for behind every product design and manufacturing process is the patient. Is a product too big? Too loud? Too heavy? In dentistry, those things can be addressed in as little time as a few weeks.

To give you an idea of the innovations filling your dentist’s office, the next time you see your dentist, keep an eye out for these five areas which have been adapted to improve the patient experience.

1. Shortening the drill sound. Dental offices try to create a relaxed environment, sometimes even spa-like. But the gnawing sound of the dental drill can undo the atmosphere in even the calmest of environments. But no more! Recent advances to electric handpieces have helped reduce the sound of the drill, but that is not all the progress that’s been made. See if your dentists use the AeroPro® Cordless Handpiece to prepare the tooth quicker and quieter without compromising quality.
2. Stopping cavities without the drill. With the latest Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) advancements, dentists can stop cavities from growing and prevent them from progressing without using a drill. Especially for children or older adults, the use of SDF in products like Advantage Arrest is not only helpful; it can also be a cost-effective way to prevent and treat decay, help soothe teeth, making preventive restorations easy.
3. Computerized local anesthetic delivery. Receiving local anesthesia is not always a painless process. But recent advances in Computer Controlled Local Anesthesia Delivery (CCLAD), for example, Dentapen, have provided a better experience for patients due to its slow and consistent injections reducing discomfort and pain.
4. Chairside scanning. Repeat dental appointments can be unnecessarily taxing. Clinicians can now provide more services in one appointment through recent advances in chairside scanning and milling blocks, like E-max crowns.
5. Isolation devices. Traditional dental handpieces that use water sprays can be uncomfortable for patients as high-volume evacuation, and saliva ejectors can struggle to keep up. Improved isolation devices, such as Isodry, incorporate a suction in the back of the mouth to prevent moisture buildup while also providing retraction of cheeks and tongue, making dental visits easier for patients and clinicians.

With oral health serving as an indicator of overall health, well-being, and quality of life, patients cannot afford to miss dental appointments. As a result, it crucial that dental innovation continues to advance in the direction of improving the dental experience and keeping the patient relaxed and at ease, truly making dentistry a patient-centric field. Curious to hear what your dentist has incorporated to improve your experience? Ask them!