New Technology

Digital Planmeca ProMax X-Rays

It’s a whole new world to have X-rays taken in the 21st century. Most of the X-rays you’ll need are done without the use of painful plastic jigs which hold a film in your mouth. This digital unit takes X-rays without using traditional, chemically developed film. The X-ray image is within seconds visible on a computer monitor. Less waiting and no pain and a superb digital image!

SOL® Laser

Lasers have been a science fiction go-to for years. Now, we use a laser with very little or no numbing at all as a valuable tool. If you have cold-sensitive teeth, the laser accelerates the chemical reactions of using desensitizers, equating in minutes the equivalent of several nights of application. We use the laser to clean the teeth of patients with periodontal disease to create a germ-free gum line. The laser is also used in place of a scalpel in oral and periodontal surgery to cut and cauterize, causing faster healing with less pain.

Intraoral Scanner iTero

Until recently, messy impressions had to be taken for braces, crowns, bridges, full and partial dentures. Most people found impressions difficult to bear because of gagging. That is all a thing of the past with an intraoral scanner. A scan is completed with a wand-like handheld unit about the size of a phone. Its narrowest end, about the size of the cup of a tablespoon, is placed over the teeth and in a few minutes, the computer creates a 3D picture of your teeth and jaws. This image can be emailed to the lab, much lessening the time to finish your dentistry!

VELscope

Since Dr. Weinhandl graduated from dental school, he was trained to begin our dental check ups by examining the soft tissues of a patient’s mouth first: lymph nodes, cheeks, lips, tongue and throat. This has been always using ordinary white light from the dental overhead light. Now, he use another way of checking oral health and for oral cancers by using the VELscope. Certain proteins in our cells, fluorophores, emit their own wavelength of light when exposed to blue light. This fluorescence is observed by an optical filter in the VELscope, allowing the dentist to detect tissue abnormalities and rapidly dividing cell areas. It means early detection of oral cancer with another layer of examination over traditional exams.

DIAGNOdent™ Pen Laser

Dentists use two ways to find cavities, one is x-rays, the other is the checkup, where the dentist uses the “explorer”, the curved instrument to feel for soft, sticky decay on the biting surface and side of the teeth. Dr. Weinhandl also uses a laser, the DIAGNOdent™ pen as a precise method for identifying decay deep in the grooves and between teeth.

Sapphire Whitening System

People love a bright, healthy smile, being their own or admiring someone else’s. White teeth boost confidence and are esthetically pleasing to others. The Sapphire Whitening System is available as an in-office treatment and take-home treatment. It has proven to whiten teeth by up to 7 shades in 30 minutes.

The Sapphire Whitening System is  an engineered, unique mix of active ingredients to ensure that sensitivity is minimized while teeth whitening effects are maximized. In addition to whitening components, the Sapphire gel also contains minerals and fluoride, allowing teeth to remain healthy and strong.

The in-office and take-home Sapphire Professional treatments both remove stains easily. Examples of reversible stains include:

• Yellowing caused by aging
• Tobacco stains
• Stains caused by pigmented foods and drinks (like red wine)