Digital Dentistry

Dental technology allows us to offer you effective, precise and efficient dental treatments – it can even show you the future appearance of your teeth. SmileMore invests in modern technology for the comfort and convenience of our patients, so we can show you exactly what we see.

Digital Dental Tools Let Us Show You Exactly What’s Going On In Your Mouth

For some patients, if they can’t see an oral health problem or feel any pain, they may avoid treatment. That only leads to oral health issues getting worse and costing you more time, money and dental care later on.

Dental technology addresses the need for patients to view problematic areas in their mouths. The first real step in digital dentistry was micro cameras that dentists used to take photos of the inside of patients’ mouths, which they would share with the patients. Digital dentistry has evolved tremendously beyond those first cameras, with new machines now giving 3-D high-resolution imaging or even restoration manufacturing. At SmileMore, we use both!

Digital Smile Design

Digital dental technology requires specialised equipment and training, and whether for restorative purposes or aesthetic dentistry, our tools can help you love your smile again. The goal of our digital smile design is to make your teeth look amazing. We use our in-house technology on a daily basis to give our patients the best results they can imagine. In planning your smile and the placement of any crowns, veneers, implants and other appliances, our digital smile design process creates brilliant results. Paul and his team match the shape and shade of restorations, so they blend in seamlessly with your surrounding teeth. You can preview your smile on a screen and test out a trial smile before we go ahead with treatment. Our patients are part of the smile design process, as the end result needs to make them happy. Once we have a preview you love, we can proceed with making it permanent – with seamless results that look like your natural teeth.
If you’ve ever had traditional impressions taken, you’re aware that it’s not the best experience for patients. Using impression trays with a thick alginate material, patients need to hold the trays in their mouths for several minutes, which is uncomfortable, to say the least. These impressions need to be very precise, otherwise they can be rejected and require a redo of the impressions. Though it works, this outdated method can be costly, inefficient, uncomfortable and the impressions can be potentially damaged if they need to be shipped to and from a lab. Our patients deserve the best, so we offer a totally digital experience. We use a wand to take digital impressions of the inside of your mouth, giving us detailed and precise images to work with. In just a couple of clicks on the computer, your scans can be sent to Invisalign, a lab or dental specialist in moments, which means your treatment starts faster.

No More Goopy Impressions

We Make Restorations On-Site with CEREC

At SmileMore, we use a Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics (CEREC) machine. This device helps us do digital smile design and create bespoke restorations for our patients – generally in a single visit. The CEREC machine can be used to create crowns, inlays and onlays, fixed bridges, veneers and more.

To start, the CEREC machine takes X-rays and photographs of your mouth with 3-D imaging software and makes a model of your teeth. The Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software highlights areas on the model that need to be fixed, so you can see exactly what needs to be done. The technology provides an accurate replica of your tooth, which it uses to create a custom restorative piece using state-of-the-art CEREC porcelain.

CEREC technology is stunningly accurate and makes restorations in as little as 20 minutes. While the CEREC machine goes to work sculpting your restoration, we use the time to prepare your tooth for placement. Instead of breaking up a restoration into multiple visits and placing a temporary restoration, you’re in and out in one visit, and you leave with a permanent fix.

iTero for Invisalign and Other Treatments

Our other scanner is the iTero scanner, from the makers of Invisalign. This scanner also creates a 3-D image of your teeth in just minutes, helping provide accurate digital impressions and better aligner fit for patients undergoing Invisalign treatment. We use the iTero machine for comprehensive orthodontic workflows and restorative and implant workflows. On the screen, the scans are highly visual, so you can see exactly what your teeth look like from any angle.

As we scan with our iTero machine, it takes 6000 images per second, providing a 3-D high-resolution interactive image of your teeth. After digital scanning, we can plan your smile, estimate the length of time you’ll need the aligner trays and show you on the screen how your trial transforms over the course of treatment. When you come in to pick up new Invisalign trays, we look at your progress, and we can track how your teeth move against the projections.

SmileFast Trial Smile

We use one of our high-resolution scanners to digitally design your smile with results you can see on screen AND in person before starting your treatment. SmileFast uses a combination of orthodontics, ceramics and composite bonding technology. It allows you to visualise your smile and informs and guides our treatment planning. SmileFast uses photos and digital dental records to design your smile and outline your possible treatment options. Using SmileFast technology, we can superimpose the digital images on your photo, so you can visualise how a new smile looks. Using a SmileFast stent, Paul and his team can place a custom-designed model on your front teeth, so you can test out your smile before we make it permanent. If you want any alterations, we can make them before we start working on your teeth. As the name suggests, SmileFast cuts down on the time it takes for the preliminary planning stages and expedites the time it takes to give you a new smile.

Benefits of Digital X-Rays

We incorporate technology into as many of our processes as possible, including digital X-rays. We use digital X-rays for several reasons, including:

Dental Technology is Another Way We Care for Our Patients

We know your time is valuable, and we want to make each moment you spend with us count. Our investment in high-tech dentistry is just one way we keep our patients’ best interests in mind. Digital dentistry enables us to show you what’s possible for your oral health, cut down on discomfort and make the best use of our time together. Make an appointment with us today, and you can experience our incredible digital tools firsthand.