As different industries strive to provide better products and services to consumers, the healthcare industry has also improved its service delivery. Since dentistry is a major part of the healthcare industry, dentists have also implemented various solutions to improve their service delivery and cost of treatment.
Hence, the dental industry has witnessed the widespread adaptation of various technological trends to improve multiple aspects of dental healthcare, such as costs, treatment time, and enhancing dentist-patient relations.
With that in mind, here are three of the most common technological trends that dentists have adopted.
3D-Printed Dental Appliances
Traditionally, dental appliances such as veneers and bridges were constructed in a lab by dental specialists. As a result, if a dental office did not have enough dental appliance specialists, sometimes patients would have to wait for extended periods before their appliances were ready.
However, in a bid to reduce the time taken to produce dental appliances, dentists have turned to 3D printing technologies. A 3D printer can build several dental appliances within a fraction of the time it takes a specialist to construct one device from scratch.
Additionally, producing a 3D-printed dental appliance is cheaper than hiring a specialist for the job. Thus, dentists using 3D printers can provide their patients with dental appliances at a subsidized cost.
Teledentistry Dentistry
During the covid-19 pandemic, dental practices were greatly affected by the numerous lockdowns since patients could not visit a dentist for a checkup. However, dentists soon found a way to conduct dental checkups via the internet.
Typically, all a patient has to do is video call a dentist, and the dentist provides a checkup session via the video call. This eliminates the need for people to travel to a dental office during lockdown.
Since the teledentistry trend has been a success, 23% of dentists in America are considering implementing it in 2021. Hence, soon enough, you may not have to leave your house or office for a dental checkup.
Laser Technology
Laser technology is one of the most in-demand trends in the dental industry as of 2021 due to its unique capabilities. Laser technology has a wide array of applications ranging from teeth whitening, altering the shape of the gums, eliminating bacteria during a root canal procedure, etc.
However, the main benefit of using laser technology in dentistry is that it is more effective than all the other tools and products traditionally used in the dental treatments listed above.
Additionally, laser technology has enabled dentists to minimize the amount of time it takes to conduct treatments such as teeth whitening and root canals. Thus, dentists can perform more treatments within a day using laser technology than using traditional tools and products.
For more information, contact a dentist.
Share15 June 2021
Being born with naturally soft teeth, I've spent a lot of time in and out of the dentist's office. Not only have I learned a lot about basic dental care, I've also discovered many tips for dealing with broken teeth, extractions, implants, and more. I decided that I wanted to make the most of my experience by sharing what I've learned with others. True first-hand experience is a great teacher, and I knew that my story could help. I created this site to do just that, and I hope that the information here helps you to understand what to expect from your dental problems.