On March 19, 2008, the E4D was installed at Augusta Family Dentistry.  Augusta Family Dentistry is one of first thirty dental practices in the nation to own and utilize the E4D.  Augusta Family Dentistry is the first office in Kansas to receive it. The E4D technology is a CAD/CAM machine that builds crowns (also inlays and onlays) from an impression generated by a set of lasers used in the mouth. 

The E4D is an American machine - designed and manufactured in Dallas by a group of private investors who researched the positives and negatives of CAD/CAM machines previously - and currently - in use.  By doing so, D4D (the company responsible for this machine) has created the E4D.  The technology that the E4D competes with is over twenty years old and the E4D will revolutionize dentistry.

It benefits patients by stabilizing the cost of crowns for patients.  It may even lessen the cost.  (Porcelain, porcelain over metal and gold crowns average between $600.00 to $3,100.  Although the exact cost is not yet determined - due to the need to consult with insurance agencies - the anticipated cost will be less than $500.00 per crown.)

Most importantly, it greatly reduces the amount of time to build a crown.  Typically, this means less time at the office but with the same results.  (Traditionally, a dentist creates a mold of the patient's mouth.  The mold is then sent to a lab for the creation of the crown.  The patient must then return to the office - typically one to two weeks later - to have the crown put in.)

The E4D is a long-term technology that Augusta Family Dentistry is pleased to utilize. 

Today as we went about seeing patients, we were alerted that two patients had arrived simultaneously with dental emergencies.  One of the patients had been released from a local hospital emergency room and was sent our way because the patient was complaining of oral pain.

Just as doctors in an emergency room do, we dentists spring into action and our adrenaline starts pumping when we are faced with a dental emergency.  Time is of the essence.  Time and effectiveness in a short amount of time can mean the difference between saving a tooth . . . or not.  We do not enjoy the pain that our patients suffer during such emergencies but we enjoy the opportunity to thoroughly treat those patients in order to make a lasting difference in their lives.

Today was the same.  We rushed.  We made room.  We shuffled our schedule all so that these patients could be seen in a timely fashion that would benefit their oral health and end their pain.

If you have a dental emergency, do not hesitate to contact your dentist as soon as the crisis - or pain - occurs.  Do not hesitate to drop what you are doing to get to your dentist's office to alleviate your suffering.  After all, your dentist should be willing to do the same.  (In having said that, please reserve "emergency dental care" for those who are truly in an emergency situation.  Contact your dentist and thoroughly explain your situation so that the dentist fully understands the issues you are facing.)