Special Equipment

We strive to stay on the leading edge of periodontal techniques and equipment. In order to do this, Dr. Sebastian takes a great deal of continuing education. We also utilize advanced equipment in our office including:

Waterlase MD Er,Cr:YSGG laser

Lasers can be used in several procedures, such as gum contouring and crown lengthening (see Individual & Cosmetic Procedures). Dental lasers have been used for close to 20 years in dentistry.

iCat CBCT Scanner (CT scanner)

https://www.kavo.com/en-us/i-cat

CBCT (Cone beam computed tomography) machine is generally used in areas like oral surgery and implant dentistry. It can be used  to identify the sinuses, periodontal tissues, nerve canals, location of implicated teeth, etc. CBCT Machine produce 3D image of teeth, sinuses, nerve pathways and bone in a single scan.

We use an iCat CBCT scanner for pre &/or post implant placement diagnostics and, as needed, for other pre-operative dental procedures. Radiation exposure from CBCT is up to 10 times less than that incurred from medical CT scanning, which exposes a patient to a dose of approximately 400 to 1000 µSv.

https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q11138.html

Platelet-rich Fibrin

Platelet-rich Fibrin (PRF) was developed in France by Joseph Choukroun, MD in 2001. It was first published in the French literature, then translated into English dental and medical journals in 2006.

Dr. Sebastian uses PRF on some bone grafting and other oral surgery procedures. Dr. Sebastian was trained in the PRF technique by Dr. Choukroun in February 2011.

When you get an injury or cut, bleeding stops when platelets in your blood from a clot. When they clot, platelets release chemicals known as "growth factors" that attract healing cells to the wound. It is the same principle as Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP), as described above.

A blood sample of the patient is drawn into sterile test tubes (the same type of tubes used when you have blood work drawn in a medical laboratory), spun in a special centrifuge to concentrate the platelets into a fibrin matrix clot. Dr. Sebastian uses the centrifuge developed by Dr. Choukroun, the PC-02 from Process (Nice, France) manufactured in Germany.
 
The yellow is the Platelet rich fibrin matrix, the red below it a concentration of red blood cells. 

 

One test tube (9 cc’s) of centrifuged blood is needed for each PRF membrane barrier or extraction socket plug. These yellow platelet rich fibrin matrix clots can then be compressed using a special compression device to create surgical “membranes barriers” and also extraction socket plugs. No chemicals, drugs or additives are used in the preparation. It is a clot created in a sterile test tube by concentrating your own blood by spinning the test tubes in a specially designed centrifuge.  These are excellent additions to aid in lost bone regeneration for dental implants.
 
For those interested, an introductory article to Platelet Rich Fibrin in the dental literature can be found here: http://www.pesgce.com/pde/pdf/2009_09_PRF_Toffler.pdf

Piezosurgery Unit

This device cuts bone, but not soft tissue. It is the ideal instrument for accessing the maxillary sinus for doing sinus lift bone grafts.

• Rationale for using the Piezosurgery unit:
  A New Bone Surgery Device: Sinus Grafting and Periodontal Surgery

Isolite intra-oral bite block, retractor, suction and illluminator

In some of our procedures, this is a great addition. It is a bite block that also retracts, suctions and has a fiber-optic light for illumination, all in one.

This is  a video of how it works. Isolite Systems: Video

This is a video of what patients think of the Isolite retractor.  Isolite Systems: Video

STA computerized local anesthesia delivery system

The STA™ System technology utilizes computer controlled local anesthesia delivery to enhance the injection process for both the dentist and the patient. Audio and visual confirmations make injections  more accurate and less stressful.  

We are now using a new computerized anesthesia system called STA or Single Tooth Anesthesia. The STA system releases a precise amount of anesthesia for your dental procedure to insure no pain either from the injections or the work your dentist is doing. 

The STA needle doesn't even look like a syringe! The tiny needle is significantly smaller than traditional dental needles (it looks like a wand or pen with a small needle at the end) and eliminates the typical numbness and often embarrassing drooling that you normally experience from a trip to the dentist.

What this means for you

Many people have had bad experiences with dental injections: the STA system eliminates that ‘bee sting’ effect with computer controlled, automatically released anesthesia! These doses of anesthesia are released below your pain threshold – without utilizing the dreaded dental syringe.

A little spray to numb the gum then a slow release of slow, small doses of anesthesia through the computerized system guarantees you won’t feel a thing.