Advanced Technology
Precision Dentistry
When you seek care at our office, you are assured that Dr Lemke and his staff utilize the latest in technology to enhance the quality and fit for your dental care.
Our practice uses high power microscopes to enhance the precision of patient care.
Dentistry is micro-surgery. Using microscope that is similar to the one an ophthalmologist uses enables us to create dental restorations with incredibly precise fit and finish. You just can’t fulfill that level of care with the naked eye.
In addition to allowing precise, close-up work, the microscope directs a beam of light directly on the teeth, minimizing glare for you.
Digital Imaging
Dr Lemke chooses carefully which and when radiographs are taken. There are many guidelines that we follow. Radiographs allow us to see everything we cannot see with our own eyes. Radiographs enable us to detect cavities in between your teeth, determine bone level, and analyze the health of your bone. We can also examine the roots and nerves of teeth, diagnose lesions such as cysts or tumors, as well as assess damage when trauma occurs.
Dental radiographs are invaluable aids in diagnosing, treating, and maintaining dental health. Exposure time for dental radiographs is extremely minimal. Dr Lemke utilizes Digital Imaging Technologies within the office. With digital imaging, radiation exposure is generally 50 percent less when compared to traditional radiographs. During recent audits of our radiographic equipment, our xray units measured well below the lowest standard imposed by Washington State.
Digital imaging allows us to store patient images, and enables us to quickly and easily transfer them to specialists or insurance companies. Digital imaging can also help us retrieve valuable diagnostic information. We can often diagnose conditions earlier, to catch problems with your teeth while they are small. That can mean smaller, fewer fillings for you.
IN short: Digital x-rays allow more precise imaging for a fraction of the radiation of traditional film.
Intraoral Camera
A picture is worth a thousand words. Often times you will want to see what is going on with your tooth as well as we can. Dr Lemke uses Intraoral Camera technology that helps enhance your understanding of your diagnosis. An Intraoral Camera allows our practice to view clear, precise images of your mouth, teeth and gums, in order for us to accurately make a diagnosis. With clear, defined, enlarged images, you see details that may be missed by standard mirror examinations. This can mean faster diagnosis with less chair-time for you!
Intra oral cameras also enable our practice to save your images in our office computer to provide a permanent record of treatments. These images can be printed for you, other specialists, and your lab or insurance companies.
CEREC TECHNOLOGY
Often times, a filling simply isn’t the best way to fix a tooth. In cases of very large cavities, a root canal, a fractured tooth, or a large worn out filling, sometimes we need to replace the damaged tooth structure with something rigid and strong. Luckily Dr Lemke has extensive training and experience in CEREC technology to create same day onlays and crowns. Traditional crowns have been made by a laboratory. While traditional labwork is still necessary sometimes, it means you have to have messy and uncomfortable impressions made in your mouth and you have to wear a fragile temporary crown for a couple weeks while the lab completes their work. With CEREC technology, Dr Lemke can complete your crown in one visit. While it is a longer procedure visit, it allows you some time to rest and enjoy our space while we are perfecting our work in another room. Then you get to leave with a strong, beautiful crown that you can really feel confident in.
Click on this link to learn more about the difference between fillings and CAD/CAM crowns and onlays
Click on this link to learn more about CAD/CAM or CEREC crowns
Click this link to learn why Dr Lemke might recommend an onlay instead of a filling or a crown