thedrifter
01-10-08, 08:03 AM
Dental Tech: The crowning edge of technology
Cpl. Mikaela M. Bravo-Cullen
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.(Jan. 9, 2008) -- Searing pain constantly rips through your mouth, shooting bullets through your head. Throbbing, swollen gums drive you to starvation, and chills rage through your body every time you take a drink of water, all because of one broken tooth.
Second Dental Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, can assist Marines and Sailors who may experience these effects by conducting ceramic restorations or even a crowning to relieve the pain and restore the tooth.
Second Dental Battalion, works hard to maintain the most updated and modern dental equipment available, such as the Computer Assisted Design, Computer Assisted Milling dental restoration unit, to better serve the Marines and Sailors of Camp Lejeune.
For the past year, 2nd Dental Battalion has been using the CADCAM, which allows dentists to produce crowns and ceramic restorations of greater quality at a faster rate.
According to Navy Captain Ken S. Gore, the prosthodontic command consultant, 2nd Dental Battalion, the CADCAM gives 2nd Dental Battalion the ability to produce crowns and ceramic restoration in only hours, which in the past took anywhere from three to six weeks.
Gore also said that dental studies show that crowns made with this machine will last 10-15 years, compared to the old fillings lasting only one year.
“Let’s just pretend a Marine has a filling in his tooth and he bites down on a piece of food and it breaks the front half of the tooth off,” Gore explained as he began to describe the CADCAM technology.
“Using the CADCAM allows dentists to take optical impressions of the Marine’s remaining tooth and designs the missing part,” Gore said. “The created information is then sent to a milling machine where a ceramic restoration is made. The newly shaped block fits inside the remaining tooth and then we bond them together.”
“The machine also does crowns,” Gore added. “Sometimes the tooth is so badly broken down either through decay or fractures that we’re not just replacing a segment of it, we’re replacing the whole thing.”
Gore also explains that the crowning process is slightly more difficult than a ceramic restoration, but it can be better accomplished with this technology.
“The main reason we purchased the CADCAM is that we’ve seen a significant amount of broken teeth,” Gore explained. “When I was in Al Asad, Iraq for about six months, I saw more broken teeth than I have in perhaps my entire career. I attribute it to stress. We tend to clench and grind our teeth when we are stressed. We are hoping that by allowing us to get the teeth restored, we’ll see a decrease in that kind of event.”
Along with eliminating potential problems that could occur, this new technology removes the hassle of going back to the dentist numerous times for one crowning process.
“I have had three silver fillings on the same tooth in the last four years,” said Cpl. Trever A. Wood, a Marine with 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. “I had to go back to the dentist several times for each one. The crowning process here only took about four hours and it’s supposed to last ten years, so I’m pretty excited.”
Along with less hassle and a decrease in dental visits, the CADCAM shows true promise in allowing the hard working personnel of 2nd Dental Battalion to continuously treat our Marines and Sailors.
Ellie
Cpl. Mikaela M. Bravo-Cullen
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.(Jan. 9, 2008) -- Searing pain constantly rips through your mouth, shooting bullets through your head. Throbbing, swollen gums drive you to starvation, and chills rage through your body every time you take a drink of water, all because of one broken tooth.
Second Dental Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, can assist Marines and Sailors who may experience these effects by conducting ceramic restorations or even a crowning to relieve the pain and restore the tooth.
Second Dental Battalion, works hard to maintain the most updated and modern dental equipment available, such as the Computer Assisted Design, Computer Assisted Milling dental restoration unit, to better serve the Marines and Sailors of Camp Lejeune.
For the past year, 2nd Dental Battalion has been using the CADCAM, which allows dentists to produce crowns and ceramic restorations of greater quality at a faster rate.
According to Navy Captain Ken S. Gore, the prosthodontic command consultant, 2nd Dental Battalion, the CADCAM gives 2nd Dental Battalion the ability to produce crowns and ceramic restoration in only hours, which in the past took anywhere from three to six weeks.
Gore also said that dental studies show that crowns made with this machine will last 10-15 years, compared to the old fillings lasting only one year.
“Let’s just pretend a Marine has a filling in his tooth and he bites down on a piece of food and it breaks the front half of the tooth off,” Gore explained as he began to describe the CADCAM technology.
“Using the CADCAM allows dentists to take optical impressions of the Marine’s remaining tooth and designs the missing part,” Gore said. “The created information is then sent to a milling machine where a ceramic restoration is made. The newly shaped block fits inside the remaining tooth and then we bond them together.”
“The machine also does crowns,” Gore added. “Sometimes the tooth is so badly broken down either through decay or fractures that we’re not just replacing a segment of it, we’re replacing the whole thing.”
Gore also explains that the crowning process is slightly more difficult than a ceramic restoration, but it can be better accomplished with this technology.
“The main reason we purchased the CADCAM is that we’ve seen a significant amount of broken teeth,” Gore explained. “When I was in Al Asad, Iraq for about six months, I saw more broken teeth than I have in perhaps my entire career. I attribute it to stress. We tend to clench and grind our teeth when we are stressed. We are hoping that by allowing us to get the teeth restored, we’ll see a decrease in that kind of event.”
Along with eliminating potential problems that could occur, this new technology removes the hassle of going back to the dentist numerous times for one crowning process.
“I have had three silver fillings on the same tooth in the last four years,” said Cpl. Trever A. Wood, a Marine with 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. “I had to go back to the dentist several times for each one. The crowning process here only took about four hours and it’s supposed to last ten years, so I’m pretty excited.”
Along with less hassle and a decrease in dental visits, the CADCAM shows true promise in allowing the hard working personnel of 2nd Dental Battalion to continuously treat our Marines and Sailors.
Ellie