Technology seems to be able to improve every aspect of medicinal care, increase the quality of life of patients and improve their chances of survival in severe cases. It can help doctors perform surgeries better and medicinal dosages can be calculated more accurately, but what can technology do to improve the world of dentistry?
The health of your teeth is just as important as the rest of your body, especially when developing gum disease can cause such harmful problems, so technology in dentistry is becoming more of a pressing topic.
Here are some of the newest advancements that technology has provided for dental treatments so far.
Teledentistry
Teledentistry is an area of telemedicine and telehealth that services patients’ oral health from a distance through the use of technology. This could be via live, real-time communications such as phone or videoconference. It could also be via asynchronous communications such as email, secure text messaging, or an e-consult platform.
Oral health has been linked to overall health problems and chronic diseases such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and cardiovascular problems. Teledentistry improves access to oral care and education by making it possible to provide dental and oral health services to those who don’t have a dentist or lack access to a dentist, such as those living in rural and urban Medicaid areas. It helps reduce health costs related to oral health issues by making it possible to provide dental care directly to hospital ERs, employer on-site clinics, primary care and urgent care clinics, and even schools without having a dentist on staff.
Teledentistry makes it more convenient and cost-effective to gather and exchange information with a licensed dentist to provide and support dental care delivery, diagnosis, consultation, treatment, transfer of dental information and education regardless of location.
Invisalign Treatments
Invisalign treatments have become increasingly popular in recent years, and it is all thanks to the technology that helped to develop them and used to create the treatment.
Invisalign is similar to traditional braces in that it straightens teeth, but it is made of transparent plastic that has been computer-generated to perfectly mould to a set of teeth.
Computer-generated treatments allow for increased accuracy and complete tailoring to the patients’ teeth.
Digital X-Rays
Digital X-rays for examining teeth and general oral health are extremely useful for dentistry and much safer than traditional X-rays.
Compared to a regular X-ray, a digital X-ray contains up to 90% less radiation which makes it much less dangerous for both the dentist and the patient. Plus, the image from the X-ray images can be immediately accessed on a computer so the dentist can tell the patient about their results straight away, rather than having to wait anxiously.
Online Dental Suppliers
For a dentist, equipment and supplies are crucial to providing excellent patient care. If they don’t have access to these essential things, they cannot provide the same level of care.
Luckily, with the advancement of the internet and online stores, dental offices and surgeries can order from online UK dental suppliers and receive vital equipment, uniforms, cleaning supplies, instruments and more. They can also receive them when they need them.
The ease of access to essential supplies has greatly improved the quality of many dental surgeries across the globe.
HealOzone
Tooth decay can be painful for patients and it is dangerous if left untreated, but it can now be easily fixed with the new technology called HealOzone. This treatment is made up of a natural gas called ozone (O3) that efficiently kills fungus and bacteria, which makes it an extremely effective treatment for bacterial tooth decay. Not only can it eradicate the bacteria and fungus, but it is also useful for detecting it in the first place.
This technology is a fantastic advancement for providing painless and efficient care for a common issue that patients have.
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Technology is useful in every area of our lives, but it is especially helpful for healthcare professionals providing state of the art care. Now, there are more efficient, painless and less harmful options for treating, diagnosing and detecting diseases and infections relating to oral health.
