Air Abrasion
Air abrasion is a new wave of restorative dentistry that replaces conventional dental drills in cavity treatment with a fast, quiet and safe beam of particles! Air abrasion is the drill-free, pain-free, noise-free, anesthesia-free alternative to drilling.
The principle behind air abrasion
An air abrasion hand-piece blows a powerful air stream of tiny, fine aluminum oxide particles out of its tip onto tooth structure. Air abrasion uses the kinetic energy principle, in which particles bounce off the tooth and blast the decay away. Air abrasion can be used as an alternative to the drill in certain clinical situations. The Mach 5’s quiet puffing sound, and this gentle stream of air mixed with fine powder is used to very precisely and conservatively remove decay from a tooth. Due to its precision and gentleness, the Mach 5 allows us to treat decay at an earlier stage with less removal of tooth structure.
It most commonly is used to prepare various types of cavities to be restored with composites, or "white fillings." Air abrasion also can be effectively used to repair cracks and discolorations, prepare tooth surfaces for bonding procedures, and perform additional procedures.
A painless procedure
By reducing the heat, noise, and vibration that is commonly associated with the conventional drill, the procedure is made virtually painless. Given that these are the three major sources of patient discomfort, the patient experience had been made far more enjoyable. Since anesthetics have been virtually eliminated from the procedure, you are able to leave our office without any numb, uncomfortable feeling. The secret to making this such a painless experience is the ability of the dentist to control both the air and powder of the unit.
Mach 5 System
The Mach 5 system also leaves the prepared tooth with a surface ideal for composite or tooth-colored fillings which can be placed faster than before. Now, you can leave the office faster and experience less discomfort and with fillings that are virtually invisible.