Daphne Alabama Emergency Dentist
Is Dental Drilling Necessary?
The dental drill can send a shiver down your spine and for some patients, the fear of having to have a tooth drilled will make them avoid seeing the dentist. Putting off treatment can mean a minor problem turning into something way more serious. Tooth drilling is a necessary part of filling a cavity, but there are new technologies on the way that can make this procedure a thing of the past.
A dentist often needs to drill the teeth to remove the decayed enamel and dentin before filling it. Before drilling can begin, the area needs to be numbed with local anesthetic. A high-speed drill will be used to remove the decayed enamel, then they may switch to a lower-speed drill to remove the dentin, which is softer than the enamel.
New Drilling Technology
For patients who can’t handle their teeth being drilled, there is hope coming! Plasma jets, lasers, and resin infiltration treatments are some rising alternatives to tooth drilling that dentists can offer shortly!
Plasma: a matter that isn’t a gas, liquid, or solid. Plasma technologies can destroy mouth bacteria and remove infected tooth tissue. Plasma jets have already been used and have also been successful in place of a drill in the treatment of cavities.
Lasters: Already popular in dental treatment, they are used to harden composite fillings, locate small areas of tooth decay, destroy bacteria in the root canal, and even operate on gums and cysts. Lasers can also remove areas of decay and prepare teeth for fillings, but only for very small cavities. Daphne Alabama Emergency Dentist
Resin Infiltration: This is a new treatment that avoids drilling to reach decay between the teeth. This technique hasn’t been moved from lab testing to every dental office. To seal the teeth with resin, a perforated sheet is placed in between the teeth and then a gel that cleans out the decay and prepares the enamel and dentin surface is applied through the sheet. The resin is forced through the sheet and will settle into the cavities. The dentist will then shine a light on the resin to cure (harden) it. Daphne Alabama Emergency Dentist
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