At Hilltop Dental in Duncan, the technology we use helps us provide patients with efficient dental care including dental lasers, digital x-rays, intraoral scanners and an oral cancer screening device.
Technologies at Our Dental Clinic
The technology we use at Hilltop Dental helps to inform treatment planning, detect and diagnose oral health issues, and make your dental appointments more efficient. Because we can display digital x-rays and scans on monitors right in our treatment rooms, we can show you any issues in your mouth and clearly explain your treatment plan.
We're on a mission to provide patients with efficient dental care, and make sure they are fully informed about their oral health. Dental technology helps us accomplish these goals.
X-Rays
- Digital X-Rays
Digital sensors replace traditional photographic x-ray film to produce a digital x-ray. These highly detailed computer images show your teeth and gums, in addition to other oral structures and conditions. Using a digital x-ray, your dentist can examine parts of the mouth not otherwise visible to the naked eye.
- Panoramic X-Rays
With panoramic x-rays, your dentist can create a single image of your entire mouth. The image is a flat representation of the teeth, temporomandibular joints (TMJ), nasal and sinus structures, and upper and lower jaws. Panoramic x-rays are typically used to help plan treatments for dentures, implants, extractions and braces.
- Cone-Beam Computed Tomography
Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a specialized type of x-ray machine that produces 3D images in a single scan of the dental structures, soft tissues, nerve paths and bone found in the craniofacial region. Images obtained with CBCT can help with more precise treatment planning, including the analysis of your airway for snoring and sleep apnea treatment.
Dental Lasers
- Soft Tissue Lasers
A range of soft tissue procedures can be completed with lasers (extremely focused light beams). Our dentists use soft tissue lasers to help remove soft tissue folds from dentures, reshape your gums, or speed up the bleaching process during teeth whitening treatment.
- Hard Tissue Lasers
Hard tissue lasers help our dentists remove tooth damage and decay while preserving the leftover healthy enamel. We like to save natural tooth structure and hard lasers assist us in this endeavour. With this technology, we help patients receive the dental care they need while avoiding the fear and anxiety vibrations from a conventional drill can cause for some individuals during procedures.
Oral Cancer Screening Device
Our VELscope® is an oral cancer screening device that helps a dentist to identify diseases or abnormalities in the mouth, such as cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions. Using fluorescence visualization technology, your dentist can complete an oral cancer screening in our office during routine exams and under normal lighting conditions in about two minutes. This helps put the patient's mind at ease and helps us provide an essential early warning system if symptoms appear.
Intraoral Scanners
Intraoral scanners produce digital dental impressions - technology's answer to often-messy and time consuming traditional dental impressions. Your dentist simply scans your teeth using an optical scanning wand to take a digital image of your teeth within minutes. This device allows your dentist to capture highly accurate data to create digital replicas of the hard and soft tissues of your mouth.