CAD/CAM

Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing [CAD/CAM] is now a feature in our dental office and has revolutionized the way we restore teeth. The CEREC3 machine allows us to design and mill porcelain crowns, inlays, onlays and veneers and complete the work - start to finish - in a single visit. That's right: no more temporaries for two weeks and then return for the final crown. We custom make each one and patients leave with the finished work that very day. Could it be better?

VELscope

While the VELscope system can help clinicians discover several types of abnormal tissue in the oral cavity, it is perhaps best known for its ability to assist in the discovery of oral cancer and precancer.

A deadly disease. One North American dies of oral cancer every hour of every day. The disease claims over twice as many lives as cervical cancer. 

A disfiguring disease. Oral cancer is perhaps the most disfiguring type of cancer. It often requires surgery that can grossly distort the patient’s physical appearance and chemotherapy and/or radiation that can cause them to lose their sense of taste and experience great difficulty in eating and maintaining their appropriate weight.

A disease that is not going away. Unlike most types of cancer, the number of new cases of oral cancer has not declined materially in the past three decades. One reason: numerous studies suggest that oropharyngeal cancer—often in the tonsils or the base of the tongue—is associated with the sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus or HPV.

A disease that can strike almost anyone. In addition to tobacco and alcohol user, any person who is sexually active is at risk of developing the disease. This is why health experts recommend that all adults receive an oral cancer exam on at least an annual basis.

A disease that can be tamed. Oral cancer’s high mortality rate is due to the fact that the disease is usually discovered in late stages, when the 5-year survival rate is only 20%-to-30%. But when discovered in early stages, the survival rate leaps to 80%-to-90%. By supplementing the white light oral cancer exam with the VELscope system, clinicians can see cancerous and precancerous lesions that might not be apparent to the naked eye. In fact, the VELscope system is the first product cleared by the FDA and Health Canada to make that claim.