Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

February 11-17, 201326 Special: Imaging United Kingdom Edition All courses are approved and accredited by Hamilton Fraser Insurance Services (HFiS). We offer a 10% introductory discount on all course prices with this feature. Aesthetox Academy Limited, one of the leading UK training companies in non-surgical Aesthetics. Contact 0870 080 1746 or email treatments@aesthetox.co.uk www.aesthetox.co.uk Achieving the most natural enhancement with quality education and training in non- surgical Aesthetics. Our team of surgeons, doctors and nurses can be your resource, dedicated to providing the highest calibre of Aesthetics training. Courses are held in London, Manchester and Birmingham, or, we can come to your Practice. Our training courses are open to Doctors, Dentists and Nurses only with a valid GDC or GMC number. Specialist courses in :- • Botulinum Toxin (Foundation and Advanced Levels) • Dermal Fillers (Foundation and Advanced Levels) • Microsclerotherapy • Chemical Peels D entistry used to be simple; treatment choices were limited and prior to the “celebrity smile” cosmetic dentistry did not exist. Over the past decade there have been massive tech- nological advances in den- tistry and medicine that have forever changed the treatment options for our patients. In- cluded in these advances are implants, guided bone regen- eration, milled ceramics and advanced radiographic imag- ing. Furthermore the public’s expectations have increased dramatically in this time, with many patients now seeking a brighter, whiter more youthful smile. Personally I think the big- gest advancement in recent years has been in visualisa- tion: the better I can see what I am doing the better the clini- cal results achievable for the patient. The arrival of the op- erating microscope into den- tistry has launched a new era in dental care by improving magnification and illumina- tion. The dentist can now see every detail of the teeth from micro-cracks to hidden de- cay and infection. In the past these factors may have possi- bly meant having to lose the tooth, but no more. With the dental operating microscope we can dramatically reduce the ‘guesswork’ involved when trying to save teeth. The operating microscope has now moved from the oph- thalmic and vascular surgeon to the dentist, bringing all the techniques and advantages of microsurgery into the dental practice. We are now able to magnify the tooth by up to 20 times, and using special light- ing can eliminate the shadows where decay and infection previously lurked. Combin- ing with microsurgical in- struments such a super small mirror and ultrafine dental probes, we can now access ar- eas that were previously inac- cessible. So what do I mean by “one step backwards, two steps forward”? Previously, a lot of conven- tional treatments were limited by the dentist’s ability to be able to precisely see where the infection was hiding. The patient’s lips, cheeks, tongue, saliva and shadows hampered the dentist from clearly seeing the teeth almost to the point where he/she was working by feel alone. This was especially true of root fillings where we had to accurately clean, shape and seal up to four root canals (each the thickness of a hu- man hair) through a tiny 5mm hole. One step backwards, two steps forwards The use of microscopy to enhance general dentistry by Mark Howe ‘We are now able to magnify the tooth by up to 20 times, and using special lighting can elimi- nate the shadows where decay and infection previously lurked’