High-Tech Gadgets Not Only for Game Time... They're In Your Dental Office, Too

As if Wiis, iPods and flat-screen TVs aren’t enough, some even cooler electronics can be found right in your dental office.

High-tech dentistry is being used for diagnosis, treatment and patient education. Here’s a look at some state-of-the-art equipment that some dentists find useful adjuncts to their dental practice.

The digital camera is used to take full face pictures, which are then placed into a computer. The images are immediately magnified and projected on a monitor to give you and your dentist a clear look at your mouth, teeth and gums. The pictures can be printed for placement in your files or sent to your insurance company for verification of treatment.

The intraoral camera, which augments what cannot be seen with the naked eye, aids in performing microdental procedures. It also documents what is seen in the mouth by uploading pictures to a computer screen and can provide a printed picture for you or your insurance company for verification of treatment.

The wand is a device that uses the computer to control the optimal amount of anesthetic given to a patient. This allows the patient to leave the office with a reduced sense of numbness in the lip and mouth.

Digital radiography provides filmless pictures and reduces the patient's exposure to radiation by as much as 90%. The dentist can instantly retrieve results on the computer. Computer images can be enhanced, changed, or reversed for better diagnosis. Digital radiographs are also used to enhance a patient’s understanding of his or her diagnosis.

Like all new technologies, these are tools that your dentist may or may not find suitable for his or her practice.