LAL Dental · Midtown East, NYC
Digital scanning, 3D imaging and same-day crowns, in the practice rather than sent out. It exists to make treatment shorter and more comfortable, which is the only reason to adopt any of it.
It all starts with a digital scan of your mouth. A small wand records the teeth and gums in 3D, in place of a tray of impression material, and the software turns it into an accurate model on screen.
What it means for you. No impression putty, and a scan you can see while the options are explained to you. The same scan is used for crowns, bridges, veneers, Invisalign, night guards and implant planning.
A traditional dental x-ray is a flat picture of two or three teeth. A cone beam CT is a 3D x-ray of the jaw, taken in the practice when one is needed, showing the bone, nerves, sinuses and roots from every angle. Pain can come from a different tooth than the one that hurts, sometimes in the opposite jaw, and a 3D view makes that far easier to find.
What it means for you. A diagnosis based on what is actually there rather than a best guess. The same scan is used to plan implants against the bone you have, and can map the airway when a sleep apnea appliance is being considered.
Implant positions are planned in software against the finished teeth, using the 3D x-ray, then transferred to a surgical guide made from that plan, and the implant is placed through the guide. Dr. Lal is first author on the 2006 papers that set out this approach and lectures on it nationally.
What it means for you. Less guesswork and often a smaller procedure: in many cases no incision is needed, and teeth can sometimes be attached the same day.
Crowns and other restorations are designed on screen from the scan. The software checks how the teeth meet as the jaw moves, and can preview a new smile before anything is made. A CEREC crown is then milled from a solid ceramic block in the practice, characterized, glazed and bonded in the same appointment.
What it means for you. For a CEREC crown: no impression tray, no temporary crown and no second appointment.
The practice has its own dental laboratory, which mainly makes crowns and bridges. Where a case needs a technician rather than a milling unit, such as several front teeth or unusual translucency to match a neighbor, the work is done there.
What it means for you. The choice between same-day and laboratory work is made on the case, not on what is available.
A benchtop scanner digitizes models and impressions, including full-arch implant cases, and 3D printers produce models from the 3D x-ray, surgical guides, sleep apnea appliances and trial versions of implant bridges.
What it means for you. A trial version of a large bridge can be checked in your mouth before the final one is made.
Zirconia is a strong ceramic whose appearance has improved considerably in recent years. The practice’s furnace sinters zirconia at around 3,000°F, and its speed cycle can fire a single zirconia crown in about ten minutes.
What it means for you. Strong, natural-looking zirconia crowns finished in the practice.
Used here for gum procedures: crown lengthening, frenectomy and gingivectomy. It is not used for fillings.
What it means for you. Generally less bleeding than a blade and, in many cases, no stitches.
Nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas, is available for nervous patients.
What it means for you. Say so when you call and it can be arranged for your appointment.
A first visit is a conversation, a scan and a plan. It does not commit you to treatment.