Technology has completely transformed the field of dentistry. See the amazing innovations you’ll be working with as you help patients look and feel their best.
What a great time to be a dentist! Just as technology is revolutionizing nearly every aspect of life, innovations in dentistry have transformed the field, making treatments more effective and less painful than ever. Ideas that were once only dreams – like “printing” customized dental crowns on demand – are now realities in many dentistry offices around the country, and new devices, procedures, and techniques are being developed on a regular basis.
As many dentists begin integrating the latest technology into their practices, students at Touro College of Dental Medicine can get their hands on these latest tools and systems in a brand-new state-of-the-art lab and learning space. The Konikoff Digital Dental Studio is outfitted with the most advanced instruments and equipment in the field, giving students access to cutting-edge dental innovations that include CAM solutions, dental cone beam CT imaging, milling machines, scanners, digital dental workflows, automatic sintering ovens, and more.
Committed to educating the next generation of dentists, Touro College of Dental Medicine also boasts board-certified faculty with years of clinical experience in nearly every dental specialty imaginable. Under their expert guidance, students learn and then practice the most up to date, evidence-based dental procedures and techniques, gaining invaluable experience with the equipment and processes that will prepare them to provide the highest quality care with the most modern technology available.
If you’re considering a career in dentistry, check out these exciting new dental innovations and cutting-edge tools of the trade. Then learn, more about how Touro College of Dental Medicine can help you build the skills you need to become a dentist of the future.
Imagine if you could prepare to fill a cavity without the need for drills or anesthesia. With a dental laser, you can! Lasers have long been used in surgery to give doctors more precision and to reduce patient recovery time, and now dentists can use this cutting-edge technology to reap similar benefits. Dental lasers can be used for treatments like cavity preparation and soft tissue surgeries, offering pinpoint precision, allowing easy access to those hard-to-reach spots, while keeping patients more comfortable. Plus, dental lasers provide a gentler treatment than noisy drills and sharp scalpels, so patients may experience less pain and anxiety, will need to spend less time in the chair, and will recover much more quickly.
Intraoral scanners are an amazing dental innovation that allows a dentist to create a complete and extremely accurate scan of a patient’s mouth, replacing the need for dental impressions. Touro College of Dental Medicine’s simulation lab and clinical training facility are outfitted with 3Shape intraoral scanners, which offer wireless scanning that makes it easy to get a thorough scan that generates high-quality digital impressions in lifelike colors. Relying on Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, the intraoral scanner also removes soft tissue from the scan for a clearer view and captures details like a patient’s static and dynamic contact points, all of which makes treatment and restoration easier while taking less time and improving the patient’s comfort.
CAM dentistry – or dentistry that involves computer aided manufacturing – has come a long way since it was introduced in 1985, and now dentists use it to create everything from crowns to veneers to dentures that can be placed in just one visit. Dental CAMs provide the software dentists use to link tools like intraoral scanners and milling machines that deliver all the information needed to create the physical restoration itself. Students at Touro College of Dental Medicine have access to the groundbreaking MillBox by CIMsystem software system, which is intuitive and easy to use, simplifies nesting and toolpath creation, and continuously releases with new features and improvements that keep its users on the cutting edge of dentistry.
Dental mills have transformed dental care for patients – reducing wait times for procedures like crowns or implants from what used to be a week or longer to just one visit. Mills essentially create these restorations on demand based on the digital information and specifications provided by the dentist, so a patient can wait in the office while a crown is made and then have it placed as soon as it’s ready without having to come back or see a specialist. The Konikoff Digital Dental Studio boasts sophisticated DGShape dental mills, which work seamlessly with the MillBox CAM system to allow students to perfect their skills rapidly cutting and shaping dental crowns, bridges, and other prosthetic devices.
Artificial Intelligence has already made its way into dentistry with devices like the intraoral scanner, and in the coming years, has the potential to become an even more valuable tool for offering high quality dental care. One of the most promising applications of AI in dentistry is in Convolutional Neural Networks, or CNNs, which analyze visual images to create diagnostics. This technology has the potential to accumulate knowledge and then apply that learning to diagnose decay and periodontal disease, and eventually, it may even be able to predict dental caries (cavities). Combined with clinical assessment, CNN has the potential to streamline the diagnostic process, making it more efficient and reducing the possibility for human error.
With so many exciting innovations in dentistry – and more on the horizon, now is the time to get started on your career as a future dentist. Contact Touro College of Dental Medicine for more information about our comprehensive program and cutting edge digital dental studio.