Dr. Hoop started practicing dentistry in the late 80s, and as you can imagine, dental technology has made several leaps forward over the past few decades. Fortunately for his patients, Dr. Hoop has worked diligently to stay on top of the latest advancements and continually integrates the newest, proven instruments and techniques into our dental office. At Total Dental Solutions, you will always benefit from the best that modern-day dentistry has to offer, and this will be true this year, next year, and each one that follows. Read on below to learn more about our state-of-the-art approach.
We perform an oral cancer screening at every checkup because finding and treating the disease early is proven to be the best way to ensure a fast and full recovery. On top of a regular visual and tactile exam, our team will also use the Velscope, a special light that causes abnormal oral tissue to illuminate. This helps us see potentially cancerous areas that might be impossible to spot with the naked eye.
Lasers have made a big impact on dentistry within the past decade, especially when it comes to treating the gums. Now, instead of using incisions and sutures to help patients dealing with gum disease, Dr. Hoop can now remove harmful bacteria and infected tissue just using a highly-concentrated beam of light. Treatment with the laser is extremely comfortable and precise, so much so that most patients don’t even need local anesthetic to remain relaxed throughout a procedure.
Traditional dental X-rays are fantastic for looking at a select portion of a patient’s mouth, but sometimes, Dr. Hoop needs more information than these images can provide when planning a more complicated procedure (such as dental implant placement). With our CBCT scanner, he cannot only create a highly detailed 3D model of a patient's entire bite and jawbone, but he can also determine the thickness of the bone in specific areas and locate sensitive facial nerves. This helps him formulate extremely personalized treatment plans that guarantee a successful procedure and easy recovery.
Dental X-rays have evolved quite a bit since the days of traditional film. They can now be captured 100% digitally, which creates sharper images, requires a fraction of the development time, and doesn’t call for the use of toxic chemicals. We can take an X-ray of the entire mouth as well, creating a panoramic image so we can better evaluate a patient’s bite and jaw alignment as well as their individual teeth.
Do you have a toothache, but the tooth itself looks normal? This type of pain is often due to a microscopic crack in the enamel that’s impossible to see with the naked eye, but fiber-optic transillumination makes it easy to diagnose this kind of problem. Basically, Dr. Hoop places a special light right next to a tooth, and depending on how it refracts through the enamel, he can determine exactly where the damage is so he can repair it.
Cameras are everywhere these days, including your dentist’s office! During your exams, we can take close-up images of your teeth and gums that can be displayed on a large monitor right in the treatment room. This approach has several advantages compared to a regular visual exam: we can better identify the early signs of dental issues, plus we can show a patient their images to help them better understand why Dr. Hoop might be recommending a particular procedure.
Back in the old days, the only way to find cavities involved literally poking and prodding the teeth with dental instruments. Thankfully, Dr. Hoop can now take a more sophisticated and comfortable approach using DIAGNOdent. This special light scans the enamel and can reveal even the slightest indication of decay or thinning. It’s able to detect small cavities that would be overlooked by a regular exam, allowing our team to intervene and take care of them way before they cause any pain or lasting damage.
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