Technology

Dentist Columbia

Digital X-Rays

Our advanced digital X-rays magnify and enhance your teeth for better diagnosis of treatment. This digital X-ray allows us to take an image of your teeth and put it into an imaging program.

With this program, we are able to use a number of tools that will allow us to take a closer look at your teeth and surrounding structures with remarkable accuracy.  Digital X-rays can give us the information we need to more effectively plan your orthodontic treatment. Typically, these X-rays are taken before treatment begins, but we may take additional X-rays during and after treatment in order to chart your progress.

Digital X-rays also require much less radiation than traditional film X-rays. Digital X-rays are safe, effective, fast and informative.

Intra-oral Camera

The intra-oral camera is a very small device, about the size and shape of a pen. It is used to record images of your teeth, gums, mouth, and tongue from inside your mouth. Due to its small size and sleek design, it is comfortable, easy to use, and able to view a wide range of angles. The intra-oral camera is a safe and effective tool that can be used with patients of every age.

The intra-oral camera device is connected to a full color display screen and to a computer. Due to its small size and sleek shape, the intra-oral camera can view and record detailed images of your teeth from angles not visible to the naked eye. What’s more, the images it captures can be immediately viewed on the display screen by both you and our dentist.

Our experienced doctor finds the ability to immediately view digital images of your teeth to be a highly valuable resource for both diagnosis and treatment planning. With the intra-oral camera’s digital imagery, we can instantly view your teeth with much greater clarity than other methods allow. This can be crucial in ensuring early detection of serious dental health issues like periodontal disease or tooth decay. Early detection is a key factor in ensuring positive treatment outcomes.

What our patients most appreciate is that, by utilizing the viewing feature of the intra-oral camera, we can show you exactly what dental health issues we find. This has led to improved communication between our dental team and our patients. In addition, this visual medium assists our patients with greater understanding of the reasons and goals for our treatment recommendations.

Each time the intra-oral camera is used, a new disposable cover is employed, to ensure your health and safety at all times. After your exam, images captured by the intra-oral camera may be digitally stored, printed out, or deleted, depending on the individual need.

Dental Cone Beam CT

The dental cone beam CT is a type of x-ray equipment used when regular dental or facial x-rays are not sufficient.  This technology allows us to produce 3D images of your teeth, soft tissues, nerve pathways and bone in a single scan.

Dental cone beam CT is commonly used for treatment planning of orthodontic issues.  However, it can also be useful for more complex cases involving:

  • surgical planning for impacted teeth.
  • diagnosing temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD).
  • accurate placement of dental implants.
  • evaluation of the jaw, sinuses, nerve canals and nasal cavity.
  • detecting, measuring and treating jaw tumors.
  • determining bone structure and tooth orientation.
  • locating the origin of pain or pathology.
  • reconstructive surgery.

Panoramic X-Rays

Panoramic x-rays magnify and enhance teeth for better diagnosis of dental diseases and problems. The x-ray allows us to take an image of your teeth and put it into an imaging program. With this program, we can use a variety of tools to closely examine your teeth and surrounding structures with remarkable accuracy.

With panoramic x-rays, Dr. Garbis will have the ability to closely view your wisdom teeth, Temporomandibular joint (TMJ), sinuses, nasal cavities, surrounding tissue, and check for gum and bone irregularities, which may be a sign of periodontal disease. Panoramic x-rays are so accurate they can often detect cysts or cancer.

Cavitron

The Cavitron is a handheld device used in periodontal deep cleaning. While scaling can be completed by hand, the Cavitron uses ultrasonic technology to remove calculus from teeth and gums quickly, gently, and effectively.

With the Cavitron, patient and hygienist comfort is increased and time spent scaling and polishing is decreased.

Carestream Digital Impression System

With the Carestream Digital Impression System, we are able to make digital impressions of your mouth and teeth that are faster, more comfortable, and more accurate than traditional physical impressions.

Impressions are necessary for the fabrication of dental restorations, such as crowns, bridges, and dental implants. When we send precise digital scans to our lab, your restorations require less preparation work and can be fabricated more quickly. This means you are able to have your restoration placed and be enjoying the results sooner than with traditional impression methods.

In the past, you may have experienced dental trays that filled with a soft substance that hardened into an impression of your mouth and teeth. With the intra-oral scanner’s small hand-held wand, we are able to take accurate digital impressions quickly and easily, without tripping your gag reflex.

For more information about any of these technologies or to schedule an appointment, contact our office.