The world of the dental industry has come a long way. Technological innovation revolutionizing the whole medical sector also brings transformation to the dental health landscape. Dentistry has significantly changed over the years, offering procedures with minimum pain.

People have never liked visiting a dentist for decades, which has been one common fear since childhood. But with constant evolution and technological advancements, dental clinics are now always looking for emerging technologies to make every patient experience comfortable and fearless dental procedures.

Let's have a look at five new technologies that are shaping the world of dentistry and offering best-in-class services to all patients:

1. Teledentistry: Before the pandemic, telehealth was in its infant stage. But now, it has become one of the most preferred alternatives to in-office health consultations for both patients and professionals. While, during the pandemic, telehealth was a great hit, offering no contact service that helped contain the COVID-19 spread, now the question is about post-pandemic benefits.

People now are choosing teledentistry even though dental services have opened up. Besides helping in offering care remotely, it is also used as an educational tool and can be used for inter-professional communications. Moreover, it also assists in streamlining the referrals and provides a host of other benefits for both dentists as well as patients, such as:

• Emergency dental valuation: Teledentistry is not so valuable in the triage process. But a dentist can assess something that an emergency dental care might need. This helps save time and frees up appointment slots for in-person visits for those who need them.
• Quick relief from pain: Patients can get pain-relief medicines or antibiotics with teledentistry. It is helpful for issues like abscesses.
• Tracking treatments: It is easy to monitor treatments through teleconsultation and is cost-efficient. One such example is the evaluation of tooth movement progress in orthodontic care by aligners.
• Dental safety: Teledentistry helps enhance dental health while efficiently and securely providing care to someone who requires it.

2. Smart toothbrush: In the coming days, monitoring oral health and taking care of teeth and gums will become easy because of the SMART toothbrush. With Bluetooth that connects it to the app, these smart toothbrush helps in monitoring your brushing techniques and encourages you to bring some improvement in their approaches. 

Not only does it benefits adults but also children. It is one of the best resources for educating children about dental health. Customized feedback helps identify areas susceptible to cavities and need a precise and targeted dental cleaning. This new technology will assist in preventing decay and gum disease, thus decreasing the requirement for treatments like dental fillings.

3. 3D printing: With CAD/CAM technology, same-day crowns are produced in several dental offices. Using computers, a digital template of the images from pictures or scans taken during the in-person visit is created and sent to the milling machine. Then the ceramic crown is made in the office. The exact process can be utilized during 3D printing and produce orthodontic appliances, dental implants, and dentures in the dental office. Going one step further, bioprinting that uses living cells keeps the potential to bring transformation in dentistry. It creates living tissues and bones. This can be utilized for all kinds of applications, from the regeneration of gum tissues to the creation of jaws.

4. Reformative medicine: Studies by Nottingham University and Harvard Medical School scientists have revealed that doing dental fillings using stem cells can help regenerate teeth. This new technique will assist in stimulating natural cell restoration progression for dentin. The primary component in the tooth enamel that produces new cells reveals the prospective for self-healing teeth. Don't you feel excited when you come to know that it will be possible to grow back your teeth one day? 

5. Genetic engineering: One of the most advanced inventions of Mother Nature is Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats CRISPR. This new technology will help scientists manipulate genetic codes and remove hereditary diseases. It is counted among one the most recent breakthroughs and has the potential to act against cancer.

Ethical controversies and other such issues imply that using technology in the dental sector is still a little off. But research is being done on bacteria that are found in the mouth. By disturbing the bacteria production and obstructing biofilm formation, dental plaque can be a thing of the past. So, we might see the end of the two most prevailing and destroying dental diseases, periodontal disease and tooth decay.

So, it can be seen that the future of oral health is quite exciting. With all-new technologies, the world of dentistry is evolving and adapting. These developing trends are generating some good experiences for dental patients. They are the blueprint for dental healthcare in the coming days. MyDentalPlan is India’s Largest Dental Network Provider that helps bridge this gap between the dentist and patients by providing top-notch dental care and technology for the treatment.

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About the Author:

Suprithi Choudhary, M.Pharm (Pharmacology) Medical Content writer

Suprithi is a Pharma Professional working as a medical content writer and previously worked as a Research Scientist and Senior Research Analyst

Education

• C.M Academy
• Attended the Panjab University- Chandigarh, Pharma post-graduate in Pharmacology

Special thanks to Dr Deepak Kulkarni, a dental surgeon with over 23 years of experience who proofread this blog. He graduated from the H.K.E's Dental College, Gulbarga, and has certifications in ACHS International Accreditation Education Plan; Advanced Rotary Endodontic - Restorative Continuum; and Leadership, Team Building and Customer Service Leadership from the Oscar Murphy International.