The Future of Dentistry (Podcast)

John Maher: Hi, I’m John Maher, and I’m here today with Dr. Nammy Patel, founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco, California, helping patients recognize the vital connection between dental health and whole body health, and author of the bestselling books, Age with Style: Guide to a Youthful Smile and Healthy Living, and Total Wellness: Understanding the Link Between Your Teeth and Your Health.

Today our topic is The Future of Dentistry, New Technologies and Techniques in Dental Care. Welcome, Dr. Nammy.

Dr. Nammy Patel: Hi, John. Thank you for having me.

Exciting Advances in Dental Tech and Treatments

John: Sure. Dr. Nammy, what are some of the most exciting recent advancements in dental technology and treatments?

Dr. Nammy: One of, actually two of my favorite advancements that I’ve really, really, really enjoyed working with and implemented my practice is called Curodont and Emdogain. So these are really cool because…

Curodont is actually a peptide. A peptide is basically when your body is making enamel, it’s using the specific peptide in order to make more enamel. And we’ve been able to lab fabricate this specific peptide so that when you have beginnings of decay or if you have a white spot, we can actually put on this peptide, and what it does, it actually generates new enamel. And we’ve been able to verify this via x-rays over a four to six month period, and we’ve also seen that it actually lasts a very long time as well. So that’s been really exciting for me because we’re not picking up a drill, we’re not taking natural tooth structure away, we’re not doing anything.

All we’re doing is getting your body to heal itself, which has been really wonderful by giving it the correct ingredients. And just like the Curodont, there is a product called Emdogain, and Curodont’s for the teeth, we make more tooth, but Emdogain is really cool because we make more bone, which has been phenomenal to find without having to cut you open or anything like that.

What we’re able to do is put in a product called Emdogain and that Emdogain again are those cellular structures at the beginning when our body is making more bone and we let it sit in your teeth for about three to six months or so, and it’s recreating bone for you, which is wonderful to be able to see. And these dental technology and treatments are really awesome because again, they’re preventative, they’re noninvasive, and they’re long-lasting, which is what makes me very happy.

Improving Patient Outcomes

John: Yeah. Tell me a little bit about how these new technologies improve patient outcomes and experiences compared to before.

Dr. Nammy: The best thing about these are that they’re minimally invasive or non-invasive really, which means that we don’t have to remove tooth structure or I don’t have to remove more bone or anything like that. It does require us to clean your teeth and clean your gums and put these products on there so that it’s in a clean environment so that we get really good results.

But other than that, they’re just really great for the patient because there is so little discomfort. There’s better healing and long-lasting outcomes, which we can’t beat.

How to Ensure Safety

John: Yeah. Are there any potential risks or limitations associated with these new techniques and how can patients ensure that these treatments are safe and effective?

Dr. Nammy: These treatments are FDA approved. They’ve been around for a very long time, been tested on humans for the last 10 years, so they have really great results and we haven’t seen something, I mean, the worst case scenario is that it doesn’t work.

It’s not going to cause cancer, it’s not going to cause any sort of dysfunction, which is really what I like to see. It’s like we’ve got all the benefits without any risks, which is so wonderful. At most you’ll spend some money, but that’s always replaceable. But there is zero risk as far as any systemic concerns or cancer or anything like that. And all the benefits are there, which is natural healing and whole body healing without any discomfort or pain.

3D Printing and Imaging for Dental Care

John: What about advancements in 3D printing and other manufacturing techniques like that? Are dental prosthetics and other devices produced in new ways that you want to talk about?

Dr. Nammy: Absolutely. So 3D printing has been really amazing and 3D imaging really has been really wonderful. We now have technology to be able to take your picture and do a smile design on you so that you can see how your smile will actually look on you, which is really awesome. And then we can 3D print that and then put them on your teeth, which is really highly specialized and personalized for you and gives you greater outcome, which is wonderful and gives, it’s like trying on a new dress. It allows you to be able to do that, which is really cool.

Even with All-On-Fours, when we have prosthetics that we’re using for patients when they have implants and we can actually use 3D printing to be able to create them. And it’s really wonderful because it’s robotic, it’s less irritative, it’s not as sensitive to temperatures and materials. It works really well and for the patient it’s really nice because you again, get a better quality material that’s going to last a lot longer.

The Future of Dental Technology

John: And where do you see things going in the future in terms of dental technologies and techniques?

Dr. Nammy: Dental technology in the future? Let’s see. I feel like that dental technology, there will be a point where we can plant a tooth in your mouth so that way there’s stem cells and we plant the tooth and you’ll get a whole new tooth. And I do see that coming in the future for sure. The other things that I see is being able to cure, having patients have better liver function because of the ways that their gums are cleaned up or we know specific types of strains of bacteria that are in the mouth.

We can clean them out and it’s going to help with their diabetes, it’s going to help with their hypertension, it’s going to help with their overall body function, and that’s pretty cool to see. Also, being able to non-surgically expand sinuses faster, quicker, being able to cure sleep apnea. Those are things that I feel like are going to be coming in dental care and really wonderful and exciting because again, just super preventative. Everything’s prevention, prevention, prevention based, which is awesome.

John: That’s great information, Dr. Nammy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.

Dr. Nammy: My pleasure.

John: And for more information about Green Dentistry, visit the website at sfgreendentist.com or call 415-433-0119.