Over the course of the years, since the mid-1950s, there has been a quantum leap how people have been able to care for their teeth and gums. They have gone from essentially putting paste on a stick to using bristled-toothbrushes with fluoride toothpaste to electric toothbrushes that can make the job so much easier.
Still, there are changes coming down the road that will make life even simpler for both dental patients and dentists themselves.
Here are some of the improvements in dental technology on the horizon:
Smart Toothbrushes
Electric toothbrushes have already helped mark a noticeable improvement in people’s oral health. The toothbrush does most of the work and all the person has to do is ensure that it hits each quadrant of their mouth for 30 seconds.
Enter the smart toothbrush. It will be able to do a multitude of things, including having games on it to make brushing more enjoyable for kids. There will also likely be trackers for battery life and also when it’s time to order new toothbrush heads – which is well before the brush looks like someone used it to scrub the tiles.
Digital X-Rays
The days of a dentist putting up X-rays on a whiteboard and sussing things out are getting quite numbered. Digital X-Rays are becoming more and more the norm. Highly-detailed images can become instantly available and will provide a lot more information.
Another benefit is that patients won’t have to endure all those clunky bite trays – and will be exposed to a lot less radiation than in the past. What used to be dreaded will become routine.
Teledentistry
“There’s an app for that.” Yes, that’s becoming quite the common phrase… and it’s extending to dentistry. This allows dentists to see patients who live in rural areas that are a long drive from dental offices. All they need is a smartphone – and the latest ones come equipped with cameras that can send high resolution photos in a snap.
As time goes by, there will be even better advances on the horizon. What may seem like science fiction may become fact – or there might be something completely innovative that it might not occur to the people of today as being possible.
All of these things can also reduce or even eliminate the fear that people can feel about going to the dentist. Parents can rest easy knowing that getting their children to brush their teeth won’t be a time-consuming chore and that they won’t have to expend energy convincing them to go to the dentist’s office.
Dr. Shaista Najmi and the staff at Ivory Dental Jacksonville are always excited to learn about new dental technology. They welcome the opportunity to introduce these advances to families. Give them a call at 904-998-1555..