Advanced Dental Technologies

Sky Dental Care uses advanced dental technologies to aid in the early detection of dental problems, exact dental diagnoses, and state-of-the-art dental treatments. And, our use of modern technologies includes tools to aid in dental education, ways to make filing insurance claims less difficult, and digitalization of dental records and dental x-rays for better record keeping and communication.

Intraoral Camera

At Sky Dental Care we use an intraoral camera to show patients their dental problems, document issues to ensure that your insurance will pay for your treatment, aid in cancer screening, and make diagnoses that may be missed by x-rays or even direct examination. Although we keep excellent dental records, there is nothing to match a digital photo to see progress in treating gingivitis and periodontal disease, changes in the mouth that may alert us to possible malignancies, and more.

Digital X-rays

X-rays have been used in dental care since they were invented. With the advent of digital x-rays, there is no waiting to process x-ray film and no worry about poor technique requiring more and more x-rays to “get it right.” Digital x-rays can be modified by computer to obtain the most precise resolution for accurate diagnosis and, because the images are kept in your file on our computer, a series of images can always be compared whenever need be. A huge advantage of digital x-rays is that the radiation exposure is about a fifth of the old x-rays! We always shield our patients when taking x-rays and limited x-rays to times when they are specifically needed. And, we only use digital x-rays for their better contribution to your dental treatment.

Oral Cancer Screening

This is not a technology but rather an area where we apply advanced technology as well as years of dental experience. Oral cancer is more prevalent in smokers, those who chew tobacco, those who drink alcohol in excess, and people with a history of other types of cancer. Our oral cancer screening includes close observation and well as palpation (touching) of front 2/3 of the tongue, lip and cheek linings, the floor of the mouth (under the tongue), the gums, roof of the mouth (hard and soft palate), and the areas behind your wisdom teeth called the retromolar trigone. We may use a dental camera to assist in this process and to document any findings. When there are suspicious findings you may require a biopsy (removal of a small piece of tissue) to examine for possible cancerous cells.

Dental Education and Education about Dental Care

At Sky Dental Care in Forest Hills, we always explain our finding to our patients and always explain in detail what the best course of action might be. To assist our patients in understanding their problem and the possible solutions, we also have patient education software for detailed explanations that can be repeated and reviewed for a clearer understanding. We find that excellent patient education and excellent dental care go hand in hand.

Dental Record Efficiency with Paperless Charting

In order to keep more detailed and accurate records, Sky Dental Care uses paperless charting (all computerized). This allows us to have immediate access to any dental records without having to search out old records. X-rays are part of the dental record as well. Not only does this use of technology help with better patient care. It also allows faster and more efficient processing of dental claims.