Our Patient-Friendly Technology and Comforts
At Cosmetic & Family Dentistry, we’re not only continually improving ourselves, but our office as well. Dr. Garrett Mulkey, Dr. Ashley Decker and Dr. Deborah Romack frequently update our office with the latest technology so we can always provide our patients with the highest-quality of care. With the newest tools available, we can treat our patients faster and make them more comfortable at the same time. If you’d like to know more about the tools we use every day to serve Weatherford smiles, be sure to contact our office today.
Fotona Lightwalker Laser
Do you find your snoring so unbearable that it feels impossible to get a good night’s sleep? Need another treatment that could be improved by the power of laser dentistry, such as dental filling placement or gum therapy? At Cosmetic & Family Dentistry of Weatherford, we care about not only making your dental visits comfortable, but modern as well. As the only practice in Weatherford offering Nightlase treatment, you’ll want to give us a call if you have trouble managing your sleep disorder.
Cold Laser
When most people think of lasers in dentistry, they think of soft or hard tissue lasers that are used in surgery. The cold laser, however, has a different purpose. It employs a special type of light to stimulate physiological responses that encourage healing and reduce pain. We may use a cold laser to ease TMD symptoms, prevent complications following an extraction, relieve facial soreness, reduce nausea and gagging, or numb a child’s primary teeth.
CO2 Laser
Have you noticed that your baby has difficulty feeding or that they sleep with their mouth wide open? They may have tongue tie, a condition that restricts free movement of the tongue. Dr. Romack uses a CO2 laser to quickly and painlessly free the tongue. This simple procedure can improve your child’s quality of life right now and prevent future complications, including improper teeth development, speech problems, and obstructive sleep apnea.
Sedation Dentistry
One of the biggest obstacles people deal with when it comes to dental care is fear and anxiety. We feel for these patients, which is why we offer two forms of sedation that will help shield them from pain and ease their nervous thoughts
Intraoral Cameras
Intraoral cameras allow the patient and the doctor to take a “video tour” of the mouth. Built in magnification allows the patient to take an active part in their own diagnosis and treatment planning. The “video exam” allows you to see each of your teeth individually on a monitor. The doctor can then thoroughly evaluate your mouth for a variety of conditions such as: cavities, old fillings where bacteria are getting in, broken teeth, microfractures in teeth, periodontal problems, tartar, plaque, etc….The intraoral images allow for the diagnosis of problems that may go otherwise undetected until a bigger and more extensive problem occurs.
Digital X-Rays
In our practice, we currently use state of the art digital radiographs. One of the biggest advantages of using digital x-rays is it allows your doctor to immediately look at the image during treatment. The doctor can also enhance the image to help form a better diagnosis. Digital x-rays also allow easy communication between practitioners as an image can be sent in a matter of moment. The biggest advantage to the patient is a reduction in radiation. There is approximately 70 – 80 % reduction in radiation using digital versus conventional x-rays.
CT/Cone Beam Scanner
This is truly an amazing tool! With the iCat CT/Cone Beam Scanner, we can produce a full 3D image of your mouth and jaw. The scanner itself is attached to an arm on the ceiling that completely spins around a patient, and it can take hundreds of unique images in a matter of seconds. With the help of sophisticated software, these images are then used to create the 3D model. It helps the doctors plan treatments with extreme precision, which helps ensure their success and minimize recovery time. Not only is there a dramatic reduction in radiation with the ICat, but the images are vastly superior to conventional x-rays. The doctors can visualize the sinuses, the airway, the nasal passages, the jaw bones, the teeth, the jaw joints and the cervical vertebrae. These images greatly enhance our treatment planning of dental implants, orthodontics, TMJ therapy and Oral Appliance Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Digital Impressions
This enables us to take an impression of your teeth without having to use dental putty. The gooey putty was very uncomfortable for many patients and even caused some to gag. With the Trios Digital Impression Scanner, you not only get a much more patient-friendly experience, but it also creates a much more accurate model of your teeth. Along with being extremely easy to send to the lab, this drastically cuts down on turnaround times for procedures like crowns, bridges, and other restorations.
Soft Tissue Laser
The introduction of lasers to dentistry has been one of the greatest advancements in the past few years. With the Picasso Diode Soft Tissue Laser, we can treat advanced gum disease faster and more painlessly than ever before. It can quickly eliminate built up plaque and bacteria from the gum line without affecting the surrounding gum tissue. This drastically cuts down on a patient’s discomfort both during and after the procedure and helps shorten their recovery period.
Rhinometer
A rhinometer is a device that uses acoustic reflection (sound waves) to map the nasal passages. It is used to detect the causes of nasal obstructions such as a deviated septum, enlarged turbinates, polyps, allergic rhinitis, and more. When assessing the airway of patients that may have a prospective sleep breathing disorder, it is important to evaluate the patency of the nasal airway.
Pharyngometer
A pharyngometer works in the same way the rhinometer does; it uses acoustic technology to map the oral airway. It specifically notes the cross sectional area, collapsibility, and problem spots within the throat. This is of great importance in detecting a patients potential for having obstructive sleep apnea or another sleep disordered breathing problem. It is also used to monitor the physiological changes in the airway as an oral appliance is introduced. This way, Dr. Romack can maintain maximum airway patency with the oral appliance.
High Resolution Pulse Oximeter
Before undergoing treatment for sleep apnea, you need to have a sleep study performed. With our high resolution pulse oximeter, you won’t have to go to a lab for your sleep study. This device keeps track of your heart rate and your blood oxygen saturation, which can be used to detect sleep apnea events. It is worn on the wrist, allowing you to have a “normal” night’s sleep for the test in the comfort of your own home. We will then use special software to evaluate the data and determine whether oral appliance therapy is right for you.