COSMETIC OPTIONS

Sometimes, it's difficult for us to diagnose cavities, especially in the pits and grooves on the biting surfaces of your back teeth. The widespread use of fluoride has made finding and restoring cavities early in their development more difficult in recent years. Fluoride hardens the outer enamel layer of your teeth, which means decay has a difficult time gaining a foothold. As a result, cavities are typically smaller and can be much harder to diagnose.  The traditional way to check for cavities was by looking for visual signs of decay on the tooth, checking X-rays, or feeling for a soft area with a dental explorer. However, we now have a diagnostic tool called the Diagnodent that helps us locate even the smallest amount of decay. Diagnodent is a laser technology that scans your teeth with harmless pulses of light. When a cavity is present, fluorescent light of a different wavelength bounces back to the sensor, which is translated to a digital read-out. In general, the higher the number correlates to a greater amount of decay in the tooth. When a cavity is present, the Diagnodent also produces an audible signal. The result is a smaller, more conservative restoration that will last longer and have fewer possible complications.