ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Dental Laser High-Tech Dentistry
Our dentists use the latest dental technology to provide dental treatments that minimize pain and discomfort and decrease the amount of time you have to spend in the dental office. Our laser dentistry in Fairfax uses technology to improve both our processes and the experience of our patients.
Biolase/Waterlase™ iPlus Laser
Dental treatments without pain, needles, or numbness.
At Cascades, we provide patients with laser dentistry using the Waterlase™ iPlus, a revolutionary new dental device that uses laser-energized water to cut soft (gums) and hard (teeth) tissue. The Waterlase™ system significantly improves patients’ comfort in the dentist’s chair; 98.5% of patients treated with the Waterlase™ system reported no discomfort during the procedure in a clinical trial.
Because it does not cause heat or vibration in the mouth, laser dentistry services in Manassas Park may ease the pain and anxiety of patients who fear the vibration and high-pitched whine of traditional drills. In contrast, the laser makes a gentle “tapping” noise. Unlike traditional dentistry, laser dentistry uses a cool-water spray to cut teeth without generating heat. Conventional drills and lasers can overheat teeth during procedures, inducing discomfort and irreversibly damaging the soft tissue or pulp underneath.
How does laser dentistry work?
The Waterlase® system uses laser-energized water to cut teeth. The Waterlase® emits a laser beam that energizes a highly precise spray of air and water. Water droplets absorb the laser energy and become laser-energized water particles that, when directed at the tooth, rapidly remove enamel, dentin, and decay/caries.
This process is very comfortable for patients. It is just one of the new patient-friendly technologies offered by our laser dentist in Chantilly.
iTero Intraoral Digital Scanner
This sophisticated scanner allows our dentists to work more effectively and efficiently with enhanced digital scanning. The dentist moves the iTero Scanner wand around a patient’s mouth to capture thousands of frames per second, which are then pieced together to create a three-dimensional visualization of the patient’s mouth. The scans they produce are more detailed than the traditional two-dimensional images they replace, and they help dental professionals create accurate physical dental models for restorative work including crowns, veneers, and implants. They also help orthodontists diagnose orthodontic problems and develop the best plans for Invisalign and other treatments. The data from the digital scan improves our laser dental treatments and allows us to customize solutions for each patient.
Planmeca ProMax 3D (Cone Beam CT Imaging)
With the Planmeca ProMax 3D CBCT, dentistry has taken a huge leap, literally adding a new dimension to assessment and planning. 2D provides limited information, but the 3-dimensional images provide all the data to evaluate a specific area.
The images also provide information invaluable to the patient, making it easier to understand why a procedure needs to be done and feel more secure with the decision.
The CBCT is integrated with implant planning tools that allow us to quickly and easily locate crucial landmarks, such as nerves, verifying implant placement virtually prior to placing it.
We can further use these images to verify that there is nothing pathological occurring in the patient’s jaw, such as abscesses, impacted teeth, bone loss, and various lesions.
Cascades Dental of Centerville can easily identify an additional nerve canal within a root while performing root canal therapy. This technology takes the guesswork out of dentistry.
Digital X-Rays
It is now possible to take dental x-rays while exposing the patient to as little as one-tenth the amount of radiation compared to conventional x-rays. Our office uses the latest digital x-ray equipment that doesn’t use film and doesn’t need chemicals for development. Sensors instead of film are placed in the patient’s mouth. These sensors are smaller than the holder for conventional x-ray film.
After exposure, the image appears on a computer screen in just seconds. The resulting digital pictures are as clear as conventional film x-rays. They also provide a lot of information that was not available before. Instead of holding up small films that are hard to see, we can look at the images on a computer screen. The image taken can be enhanced and enlarged many times its actual size. This makes it easy for our patients to understand our recommendations for laser dentistry treatments in Fairfax, Manassas Park, and Chantilly.
Diagnodent
Our patients place value on healthy and attractive teeth. In order to maintain them, we provide the earliest possible care with the DIAGNOdent system.
DIAGNOdent provides early detection with a simple, fast, and painless examination. Even very small lesions are detected at the earliest stage, enabling our office to protect and preserve the tooth substance.