Here are the top five dental trends for 2010, according to the editors of Consumer Guide to Dentistry
- More dental implant variety and affordability. Dental product manufacturers have stepped up the pace for introducing more affordable and less invasive dental implants, such as mini-implants that can be placed in an hour and used immediately with dentures. The techniques used for placing aesthetic restorations immediately after conventional implants are placed also have improved.
- More options for aesthetic and affordable orthodontics. Invisalign cornered the invisible orthodontic aligner market for years. Competition from companies like ClearCorrect could change that and give patients more choice.
- More convenient and comfortable treatment. Routine dental treatments will become more convenient and comfortable as more dentists incorporate such advances as pharmaceuticals that reverse the numbing effects of local anesthetics; digital impressions that don't require the use of traditional impression materials; and in-office CAD/CAM technology.
- Greater emphasis on prevention. New technologies to detect the presence of caries will enable dentists to use minimally invasive products to strengthen teeth and, hopefully, reverse the destructive process. And despite the fact that many dental insurance companies don't cover sealants or fluoride treatments for adults, dentists may increasingly ask adults to pay for these treatments out-of-pocket in order to avoid future damage and the need for a costly filling or crown.
- High-tech oral cancer screenings. Exposure to HPV-16 and HPV-18 is the fastest growing risk factor for oral cancer. Dentists increasingly will be screening for oral cancer in "non-traditional" patients -- such as those under age 40 -- using a thorough head and neck examination and ultraviolet fluorescent, chemi-luminescent, or multi-spectral wavelength devices to detect oral lesions invisible to the naked eye.
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