IN the past three years, while the whole medical field scrambled to control COVID-19, many advances are also taking place in dental medicine.
“Introduction of many tissue-friendly materials, advancements in metal-free materials, lasers, ultrasonic machines, and digital dentistry all happened in the past couple of years. These give both patients and dentists more options in treatment planning. They are less invasive and more conservative approaches, and there is more focus on the preservation of natural structures,” says Filipino-Persian dentist Farzaneh Jimenez Shamsi.
At Fashion Smile Dental Health and Wellness, a premium cosmetic dental center co-founded and co-owned by Dr. Shamsi, patients receive the utmost care using state-of-the-art technology. But these new tech are not brought in to automate processes.
Dr. Far says these are advanced tools and machines that help the operator be more precise and get better results. Dr. Far uses advanced machines and technologies during surgery to make it less traumatic and promote faster healing.
Dr. Far, a dental surgery and cosmetic dentistry specialist who obtained her Doctorate of Dental Medicine from Centro Escolar University, explains that their practice employs videos and various tools to help patients understand their current condition.
“We use videos and other tools needed to explain to patients their current condition. We offer them different options based on their condition, requirements, and goals. For major procedures, we usually do one or two sessions of discussion and treatment planning. We assess patients, and try as much as possible to control their level of fear about various procedures,” shares Dr. Far.
Regarding her aspirations for the future, Dr. Far looks forward to incorporating stem cell technology into dentistry. While acknowledging the promising potential of stem cells for addressing various health issues, she points out that, at present, the use of stem cells to grow complete, viable teeth is still under investigation.
Nevertheless, she remains hopeful that this remarkable option will eventually become available in dentistry in the coming years.
“Stem cells are being studied for treating a lot of health issues. I cannot say if in 10 years we will also be able to use it in the field of dentistry because as of now the studies using stem cells for teeth have not yet generated a complete, viable tooth. But I do hope this amazing option will be available soon,” ends the dental surgery and cosmetic dentistry specialist.