Dentistry has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years thanks to technological innovations. This has given more clinicians the ability to improve precision and patient outcomes.
“Digital dentistry is becoming mainstream now,” says Sarah Flannery, founder of Azure Dental. “The advances have made a big difference to us as clinicians. When I started off, you’d take physical impressions and it would be difficult to show or discuss anything with the patient.
“Today, when the patient comes in the door, I will take intraoral photographs, do the scan, and basically walk them through their whole mouth. It gives so much more impact when they can see it for themselves.”
Flannery’s practice, based in Blackrock, Co Dublin, is at the forefront of embracing innovation in dentistry.
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The technologies used by the likes of Flannery are making it easier for dentists to communicate with patients.
“I have a macro lens camera, so the photos I take are really clear. I can put them up on a big screen and show the patient what I can see. For good or bad, they can see anything that needs to be addressed,” says Flannery.
“Uptake with patients is amazing as, when you show them, they realise the problem. My main goal is for everyone to have a healthy mouth, so I love these tools, so people can see what they are missing and what they need to do,” she says.
Crucially, this improved ability to show a patient what is being addressed has resulted in more patients getting better at maintaining good dental hygiene.
“I love when they come back after they have been brushing properly or have been to the hygienist – then I can show them the difference and how far they have come,” says Flannery.
“It helps them to buy into that and see the change because, before, they didn’t know what they were looking at.”
One of the biggest factors driving difference in modern dentistry is the use of intraoral scanners. These involve a substantial capital expense of about €50,000 for a practice, but they have become fundamental to modern dentistry.
“An intraoral scanner is like a dentist’s chair in that you cannot live without it. I scan every day. If I’m doing Invisalign, I’ll just scan the patient’s mouth, that information will go to the Invisalign company,” says Flannery.
“Then I’ll take photos and send those too. We work together on a shared platform so they know what I want the outcome to be. Then they just print out the aligners and send them back to me. It’s just incredible, and the changes over the years have been phenomenal.”
With artificial intelligence (AI) embedded in diagnostics and treatment planning now, the quality of outcomes is constantly improving.
“Dentistry is so precise that any help that you can get digitally will make your life easier and make the treatment outcomes better. It is the way dentistry has moved,” says Flannery.
That precision is leading to treatments that ensure a longer-lasting impact of each surgery.
“Say we’re doing a filling – we’d scan the tooth, and AI will design a piece where the filling should be that will fit perfectly,” says Flannery.
“It’s all just so precise. Doing dentistry that way leads to much better outcomes and greater longevity for the restoration.”
The digital shift has also reduced the potential for errors or accidents to happen in the supply chain.
“We used to take physical impressions and it might take a few goes to get it right if there were air bubbles. Then we’d have posted that to the lab and in that process, there could be distortion. In modern dentistry, there’s no place for that,” says Flannery.
Outside of physical practices, technology is also having an impact, with smart toothbrushes giving users a better idea of their dental health.
“They can track your brushing time and when your head needs to be changed. The other cool thing is that it will track exactly where you have brushed and identify where you’ve missed,” says Flannery.
Time pressure has been a barrier to adoption for some practices, as they need to get up to speed on new technologies. Flannery says that while it will have an impact in the short-term, the long-term benefits are enormous.
“It’s a hard job because you are busy and don’t have a lot of time for embracing new ways. The difference that it makes to your patients and to your life is amazing.”
