Most people fear the dentist until they experience the advanced process of air abrasion and micro dentistry. You are fortunate to experience this new technology that takes the emphasis off pain and fear and moves it to conservative, healthy, aesthetic dental care.

Before

After

What is Air Abrasion?

Air abrasion is a focused spray of air and powder, When mixed together it removes tooth decay. Since air abrasion is achieved by directing a thin stream of abrasive powder at the area of tooth decay, we remove only minimal sections of tooth - only the decayed area. Air abrasion allows for very small cavity preparations.

When can Air Abrasion be Used ?

Experience has shown that up to 70% of all new cavities, that don't require old fillings to be removed, are performed without the high speed drill.

The "Before & After" shown above is a good example of when Air Abrasion is most often used. Teeth that require porcelain crowns, silver amalgam removal, are heavily decayed or various other procedures are treated by use of the high speed drill.

Does Air Abrasion Hurt ?

Almost never! By controlling the speed and the intensity of both the powder and the air, we can make the procedure virtually painless. Since a needle is not necessary in cases where the decay is diagnosed at an early stage, you will not have numb or drooping lips after your dental procedure. The art and science of dentistry has changed, offering a no drill procedure for removing early decay.

What should I know about early detection ?

At the slightest hint of tooth decay, we check your teeth with our totally painless laser decay detection device called a Diagnodent that measures the extent of the decay. Also we can put "decay detection solution" on the suspicious tooth.

This harmless coloured liquid helps identify the position and extent of decay - even what is not visible to the naked eye. We can then take care of the problem.

Diagnodent Laser	Probe	Diagnodent Laser

Our Laser decay detection device (diagnodent), as shown above, is able to detect hidden decay well before a traditional metal probe. This helps to diagnose and treat any problems before they have a chance to get worse.

Why is air abrasion used instead of the drill ?

Its technology eliminates the noise, vibration, and often, if it's early decay, the needle associated with the drill. The air abrasion device that we use, where possible, instead of the drill is the "prepstar" system.

Should early decay be treated as soon as possible ?

Yes. Early detection means early treatment. We are talking about decay which is also a tooth infection! Why wait for the decay to spread to other teeth or for the cavity to get bigger? We can take care of the decay as soon as possible, giving you healthier teeth that will then have the best chance of lasting a lifetime.

Once air abrasion removes the decay, how is the cavity filled?

This is the beautiful part - we will fill the cavity with a nearly invisible, non-mercury tooth coloured 'white' adhesive filling, making the tooth strong, long lasting and resistant to decay as seen below.

Before

After

Can children benefit from air abrasion?

Absolutely! Air abrasion is perfect for children. Most cavities that are detected early can be treated without a drill and without a needle. The tooth is then restored with natural looking materials to strengthen and protect the remaining tooth structure.
Fewer dental appointments for the young patient are usually required because with air abrasion many more procedures can be completed in a single appointment.

What other procedures is air abrasion good for?

Besides removing decay, air abrasion works well in these procedures:
- Repairing chipped, fractured or worn teeth.
- Preparing for cosmetic dentistry.
- Removing ingrained stains and spots.
- Placement of fissure sealants.