Technology

Digital x-rays are a method for dental imaging that allows us to send pictures directly to a computer for storage. In just a few moments, we can view the digitally perfect images and share them with you on a monitor so you can see exactly what we see.

Digital x-rays are safer for you because they significantly reduce your exposure to radiation. State-of-the-art digital images are also better for the environment since we don’t have to worry about safely disposing of potentially hazardous materials used with traditional film x-rays. Digital images can also be sent electronically to a specialist or a new dentist if you move.

Dental exams are necessary for protecting your oral health. However, many people find manual probing with dental tools to be uncomfortable. To eliminate this problem, we offer DIAGNOdent, a small handheld dental laser. Dr. Stone scans the surface of your teeth, making it easy to find cavities at their earliest stages. These laser images are so detailed, that we can precisely target decay, speeding your treatment time. 

The health and safety of our patients is our highest priority. We’ve established steps to ensure that you receive your dental care in an environment that’s as clean as possible. To provide this layer of protection, we’ve put in place sterilization procedures and state-of-the-art infection control.

All our instruments go through a procedure involving several steps that ensures they’re sterile for the next patient. We wipe and check them to make sure they’re free of debris, then put them in a special washing unit that cleans and disinfects them.

Finally, we carefully inspect the instruments one more time, seal them in special bags, and place them in an autoclave, a machine that kills any remaining bacteria or viruses. We then seal the bags, which remain sterile until we open them for the next patient. 

We use the Zoom light-activated whitening system to achieve beautiful results in just one office visit. The active ingredient in Zoom whitening gel is hydrogen peroxide. Throughout the process, the peroxide gel breaks down, allowing oxygen to penetrate the dental enamel and bleach stains without affecting the structure of your tooth. The Zoom light helps activate the peroxide, allowing it to penetrate the surface of the tooth.

Silver amalgam fillings have been widely used for decades, but advances in dental material now provide us with more esthetic and healthier ways to treat cavities. Tooth-colored fillings are composed of plastic resin and other materials. You may hear this material referred to as composite fillings or simply composites.

Tooth-colored fillings, unlike silver amalgam, bond directly to the tooth. This is a preferred method for protecting your oral health because we don’t need to remove a lot of healthy tooth structure to create a long-lasting filling. Tooth-colored fillings are also likely to minimize experience sensitivity to temperatures when compared to silver fillings.

Intraoral cameras are a special type of camera developed specifically for use in dentistry. This handheld instrument allows us to show you images of your mouth so you get a clear picture of what’s happening and why treatment is necessary.

An intraoral camera is very small, about the size of a pen. Using this specialized equipment, we can show you clear, precise images of your teeth and gums. This information helps you see what we see and also allows us to make an accurate diagnosis. The clear, enlarged images, show us details that may be missed during a standard visual exam.

Images taken with the intraoral cameras are stored securely at our Lead dental office. The information gathered from these images helps us to create a comprehensive history of your treatment.

A dental laser works similarly to the lasers used throughout the medical industry. This small handheld tool painlessly removes tissue by directing a focused beam of light at the treatment area. Treatment with a laser is conservative and non-invasive, and since the laser pinpoints the area precisely, treatment can be performed without affecting surrounding tissue.

Dental lasers allow us to perform procedures with the benefit of less bleeding, swelling, and post-procedure discomfort. Some advantages of using dental lasers for our patients include: periodontal pocket therapy (which helps disinfect the area of bone loss and leads to longer tooth retention), treatment of aphthous ulcers (canker sores), and gingival recontouring for esthetic enhancement.  Since lasers produce no side effects, you’ll be able to go about your normal routine immediately after leaving our dental office.

Isolite is a lighting system that illuminates the inside of your mouth during dental exams and procedures. This gives your dentist a clear view of your teeth, which makes treatment more efficient, meaning you spend less time in the dental chair.

Your comfort always comes first at Dr. Stone's Office. We have lots of ways to help you relax, and one amenity our patients love is the TVs in all our treatment rooms. Receiving dental care is important, but there's no reason you can't be comfortable during the process! Many of our patients find that the distraction of watching a TV program helps them forget what's going on around them. 

When you have a compassionate dentist like Dr. Stone, who really cares about your comfort and well-being, you don't need a lot more to enjoy a pleasant dental experience. But at Dr. Stone's Office we know that certain amenities can go a long way toward reducing any anxiety you may feel about your visit. That's why we've installed massage chairs in all our treatment rooms. Along with our comfy pillows and blankets, we ensure you'll have one of the most comfortable, stress-free dental visits ever!

Juggling a busy schedule sometimes makes it easy to lose track of all your obligations. At Dr. Stone's Office, we want to give you one less thing to have to remember, so we're pleased to offer appointment confirmations via text message. Of course, you can choose not to receive these notifications, but most of our patients appreciate the reminder!

Ensuring protected health information does not end up in the wrong hands, any paperwork receives top-level destruction in our office when the time comes to discard. The documents are shredded on site, preventing any motor vehicle accidents from violating your rights if it were simply hauled to a central location for shredding. As you can see, we have video confirmation of the destruction before the shredding company leaves our office.

An ultrasonic scaler is an instrument our hygienist uses to remove plaque, tartar, and inflammed tissue from around the teeth with the use of high-frequency vibrations.  Often, this instrument is used during a cleaning where the patient has periodontal (gum) disease and the areas around the teeth are difficult to clean with standard instruments.