Dental Technology
at Georgia Dental Medicine

Dental technology systems that we use at our Marietta dental office include:

Digital Dental Impressions

Most of us have memories of having dental impressions and enduring cold, gloppy dental impression material in our mouth while we waited for what seemed like forever for it to set. Dr. Anderson and our Georgia Medicine Team were excited to introduce digital dental impressions to our patients a few years ago, and we continue to be impressed by this technology today.

How Digital Dental Impressions work:

Using a wand-shaped camera about the size of an electric toothbrush, we scan images of your teeth into computer software to create 3D study ‘models’ of your smile. Our 3D software gives Dr. Anderson the ability to view your teeth from any angle and share these images on a big screen to talk with you about your bite, orthodontic teeth alignment or restorative treatment.

Other Benefits of Digital Impressions

• 3D digital impressions make communication with our dental laboratory more efficient and accurate; when Dr. Anderson prescribes a dental crown to be fabricated, the technician can see exactly what he is talking about in real time, with exact dimensions and measurements.

• Electronic lab communication also eliminates the need for multiple dental providers or lab personnel to handle dental impressions and avoids cross-contamination of equipment.

• We are also able to increase our effort toward going ‘green’; digital storage of models helps us nearly eliminate the need to store plaster dental study casts.

Embracing the future of 3D Dentistry at Georgia Dental Medicine

Dental digital impression and imaging technology has broadened the technical capabilities of dentistry immensely. Today, Dr. Anderson can use your digital impressions to 3D print a mouthguard, or overlay your digital dental models with 3D x-rays to design clear orthodontic aligners.

As you can imagine, our digital impression technology has been well received by our patients. We look forward to taking advantage of other opportunities to implement 3D dentistry at our Marietta dental office.

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Dr. Anderson uses 3-dimensional CBCT images to evaluate the teeth and jaw structures in extensive detail. As compared to traditional dental x-rays, 3D images offer the ability to view dental and facial anatomy from multiple angles or in layered sections. This capability is beneficial in planning orthodontic treatment and evaluating the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) to diagnose TMJ disorders (TMD).

CBCT technology also provides Dr. Anderson with valuable information to assess jaw bone health prior to dental implant surgery. He uses the 3D imaging tools to 1) determine if a bone graft is necessary to support the implant, and 2) pinpoint the best location for placement of the dental implant to promote healing and new bone growth after surgery.

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3D Printing

You may have heard about the use of 3D printing for medical devices or in other industries. 3D printing in dentistry has been invaluable in allowing us to streamline our services for our patients.

Dr. Anderson and Team use 3D printing technology routinely to create a number of dental appliances, including sports mouthguards, biteguards and teeth whitening trays. It also can be utilized in the planning stages of custom dentures or to create a surgical guide for the placement of dental implants.

How Dental 3D Printing Works

3D printing combines the use of digital dental models and CBCT (Cone-beam computed tomography) x-rays. Using 3D software, the images from these systems are synchronized to form a 3D representation of your teeth, along with the nerves, muscles and bone structures of the face and jaw. Dr. Anderson uses these software tools to rotate, enlarge and study these areas in great detail.

To 3D print a dental appliance, Dr. Anderson uses software to design the type of appliance required by mapping specific points across the teeth and jaw structures that are involved in treatment. He then sends the information to the 3D printer to produce the dental appliance using plastic resin materials.

While creating dental appliances using 3D printing takes longer than your paper printer, it is a highly efficient and accurate process. The digital work flow nearly eliminates the need for multiple impressions in complex restorative procedures like dental implants or dentures.

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During the dental examination, the small cavity detection pen is used to scan tooth surfaces to check the health of the tooth structure; the process is quick and completely painless.

As the DIAGNOdent™ cavity detection laser light passes over the teeth, numeric readings are displayed that indicate the health of the tooth structure below the outer surface. Healthy tooth structure will have lower scores; higher numbers will alert Dr. Anderson and help him determine the location and extent of the dental cavity.

Dr. Anderson selected DIAGNOdent™ laser cavity detection technology to support his diagnostic and preventive program at Georgia Dental Medicine as part of our commitment to helping our patients address dental problems as early as possible.

When tooth decay is detected early, it can often be treated with a conservative dental filling or preventive restoration that preserves natural tooth structure and is much less costly than major dental procedures.

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Water Quality Technology Sterisil® Straw

At Georgia Dental Medicine, taking care of our patients includes ensuring that anything we use in your care meets the highest clinical safety standards. This includes the water we use in our dental supply lines.

Our dental units are equipped with Sterisil® Straw water line treatment technology to safely disinfect the water supply lines to our tools.

• The key component of Sterisil® Straw technology is silver. Silver kills bacteria; the continual treatment process is consistent and more efficient than manual water treatment methods. 24/7/365 treatment also eliminates the hassle (and potential for human error) of dropping waterline treatment tablets into water bottles every day.

• Sterisil® Straw is EPA-registered to provide ≤ 10 CFU/ml, 50x lower than the current CDC guidelines, and helps to reduce water impurities. Sterisil® Straw water line treatment is non-toxic and non-corrosive.

This means that when we spray water on your teeth or rinse your mouth during a dental procedure, you are receiving only safe, clean water. Read more about other safety and infection control measures at Georgia Dental Medicine.