Dental Technology

A intraoral scanner to create digital dental impressions of the mouth. The files can even be merged with CT scanner data to construct surgical guides and even design the final restoration.

We use 3D printing technology for various applications in our Irvine dental practice. Our in-office 3D printer helps us create custom orthodontic aligners, comfortable and accurate dentures, retainers, and, in some cases, dental restorations.

The availability of this technology in our office makes your appointment faster and reduces the waiting time for certain dental services.

Invisalign is a modern orthodontic treatment designed to straighten teeth using a series of custom-made, clear plastic aligners. Unlike traditional metal braces, Invisalign aligners are nearly invisible, making them a popular choice for adults and teens who want a discreet way to improve their smile.

The process involves a detailed 3D scan of your teeth, which is used to create a personalized treatment plan. Over time, you wear a series of aligners, each one shifting your teeth incrementally toward their ideal position. The aligners are removable, so you can take them out to eat, drink, brush, and floss, offering a level of convenience and flexibility that traditional braces cannot provide.

Invisalign is effective for treating a variety of orthodontic issues, such as crowded teeth, gaps, overbites, underbites, and crossbites. The treatment duration varies depending on the complexity of the case, but most people start seeing noticeable results in just a few months.

Although the human eye can detect subtle variations in color, not everyone’s eye is as precise as we might desire. Add variable lighting in your mouth, and it becomes difficult to be sure you’ve got the exact match. But Shadewave takes out all the guesswork and uncertainty, allowing us to precisely match the color of your restorations to the rest of your teeth.

This allows us to analyze the best position for your teeth scientifically. Allows us to get cosmetic dentistry, orthodontic, and implant dentistry results that look good even when your mouth is closed, and amazing when you smile.

BioClear is a new approach to dental bonding. Using a flowable composite and a slender mylar guide, we can essentially cast new restorations right around your natural teeth. The flowable material fills in voids around teeth, making it especially good for eliminating black triangles around the base.

Our in-office CBCT machine. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has become essential dental technology. Where traditional x-rays give us just a flat image, and panoramic x-rays just give us a larger flat image, CBCT is able to give us a three-dimensional image of your bones and teeth. This can be vital for planning root canal treatments and dental implant placement and can even help us understand the exact causes and effects of your TMJ. This allows the procedure to be planned more precisely, leading to safer surgery, and we have it under our own roof–no referrals.

This complex filtered system of water supply guarantees pure water supply, much safer than simply using the city water system.

In the past, dentists poked and prodded your teeth with sharp metal hooks. Today, fewer dentists do that, but that just means that they are relying more on their vision, which is a very inexact detection method for cavities. We use a laser cavity detection system that allows us to find cavities that are invisible to the naked eye and may not show up on x-rays. Since metal fillings block x-rays, detecting cavities around them can be difficult, but the dental technology of laser cavity detection allows us to find them. It also allows us to more accurately verify decay before we start treatment, so we won’t accidentally drill a healthy tooth.

We have worked for years to get the most painless technique possible. We start with a custom compounded topical anesthetic that doesn’t just have one but three different anesthetics in it. It is much stronger than the basic topical used in most dental offices. We apply the topical to “numb it before we numb it.” Then we give another very small dose of a special non-acidic anesthetic that is more painless than all the other types. Then finally, we give strong anesthesia into an already numb area of your mouth. We daily get compliments on our painless injections.

We have learned that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of oral bacteria species living in your mouth. And we’ve learned that only a small number of those species are actually responsible for gum disease. DNA testing allows us to create a profile of what bacteria are living in your mouth so that we can get a better idea of your gum disease risk.

CariFree is an advanced cavity prevention system designed for people who have tried the brush/floss/regular checkups routine but aren’t getting results. CariFree uses an advanced approach and comprehensive lineup of options to deliver cavity prevention throughout your day. If you are someone at high risk for cavities because of your genes or your lifestyle, CariFree can help.

Sometimes there’s so little decay on your tooth we can literally blow it off with microabrasion. This is the least invasive way to treat decay, as it removes only a tiny amount of tooth enamel, and it preferentially targets what’s been weakened by decay. It’s so painless that you won’t need any anesthesia–no shots required!

Oral cancer is highly treatable when detected early. VELscope allows us to detect oral cancer earlier than in the past. It takes advantage of the fact that cancerous and precancerous cells respond differently to a certain light, giving off an eerie glow that we use to find them.

Lasers have many beneficial applications in dentistry. We utilize two different laser technologies in our office. First, we have a diode laser, which allows us to perform laser gum disease treatment and gum recontouring without using a blade to cut your gums. There’s less discomfort and less bleeding, and the laser can kill many of the bacteria in the area, helping control infection.

We also have Waterlase, a laser that also uses water to remove tooth enamel without the need for a loud, grating dental drill. This can make for more comfortable dental treatments and can reduce incidental damage to your teeth.

Have any questions about the technologies we offer and how they can improve your dental treatment? Please call (949) 551-5902 for an appointment with an Irvine cosmetic dentist at Rice Dentistry.