Minimally Invasive Dentistry is all about respecting the health, function and aesthetics of oral tissue by preventing disease from occurring or intercepting its progress with minimal tissue loss. It is a progressive dental technique used by today’s forward thinking dentists.

The old paradigm of dentistry was waiting for the cavity to become visible and then repairing the cavity with deeper, larger fillings or waiting for a tooth extraction. This led to many problems, including but not limited to, amalgam fillings, which do contain mercury, tooth breakage and fractures, the need for expensive crowns, root canals, bridges and eventually dentures.

Modern tools such as the Diagnodent Laser cavity detector and caries dyes, enables the Dentist to discover and remove the smallest decays with air abrasion, and the WaterlaseMD dental laser. Tiny fractures and chips can be repaired before the tooth breaks down. Dentists who work through dental microscopes see problems before you can feel them and make exceptional restorations often times using microdentistry, which saves tooth structure.

In situations where significant caries or gum disease exists, minimally invasive dentistry can still be utilized. Preventive resin restorations can be used instead of amalgam fillings. Conservative periodontal therapy can be initiated. Inlays, onlays, bleaching and the placements of veneers are often options instead of extensive crowns, which remove much more tooth structure. Removal of third molars at the most opportune time is a benefit to oral health. The patients experience is less painful, with faster healing and far less complications.

An exciting part of this new paradigm of dentistry is that we can actually reverse early, non-cavitated carious lesions. Remineralization uses bioavailable minerals such as calcium and phosphorous to rebuild teeth. Xylitol therapy is of tremendous value because it reduces the strep mutans bacteria in the mouth, which decreases acid levels and lowers the ph level. This reduces plaque formation, which benefits the teeth and gums. Remineralizion and xylitol therapy work together to rebuild teeth.

Dr. Chris Edwards at Smile Design Center has practiced Minimally Invasive Dentistry his whole career. He has a team dedicated to saving your teeth and restoring health to your mouth, which makes it possible for you to keep your teeth healthy for a lifetime. For more information go to www.smiledesigncenter.us or call Lilly at 321-751-7775.