Dental tourism has been a booming industry back since 20140, especially for Americans, Europeans, and Australians whose countries charge lots of money both for dental treatment and insurance each year. In the present day, many foreign customers search and plan for dental tourism, and there are already many guides for researching this plan on the internet; however, they always miss something that is equally important: Dental technology. In this article, we will explain what are the essential must-have technology in a dental clinic, and what the famous brand used by Vietnamese dental clinics are.

Dental technology

1. Digital smile design

Digital Smile Design (DSD) is a treatment-planning protocol, considered to be 100% patient-centered, which all smile designers use in order to create the simulation of the outcome of the treatment. The protocol is used in both cosmetic and restorative dental treatments. To make it simple, DSD analyzes your facial and dental proportion, then create high-quality digital photographs and videography. With these digital photographs and videography, designers are able to create the treatment plan and show you the result that you can expect to be your future smile.

One brand that is mostly used in dental clinics in Vietnam is Smile Design Pro. This is a simple but full-of-professional-features application that both dental practitioners and specialists can use. It’s applicable in the situation that you could need cosmetic procedures to makeup your smile which might be affected by chipped, crooked, discolored, broken teeth. Dental clinics that use this application can give you the afterward result of your smile within 10 minutes of designing.

2. Implant planning system

Implant planning system is a dental technology providing dentists detail of the clinical condition and allow them to plan and optimize the implant procedure. This system helps to ensure that the outcome of the treatment meets with both patient and dentist’ expectation and prevent any problem arising during the implant procedure. It helps in improving the safety and efficiency of the surgical procedure. With traditional implant, the surgeon calculates the implant and prostheses parameter, direction and conduct surgery based on simple tools. Nonetheless, with implant planning system, all of the planning and surgery process is digitalized, which helps the surgeon finish the surgery with absolute precision and minimize risk of failure.

3. Planmeca and Sirona are the two best international companies that produce implant planning software, which Vietnamese’ clinics mainly use. Both two brands are globally well-known for manufacturing dental systems and technologies, and both attach along with their implant planning system the design guide. While Planmeca produces all-in-one with a flexible workflow system for easy use and user-friendly interface, Sirona develops many systems at once--which each of them is suitable for different bone, procedure, the dental structure of the patients.

4. Laser

Dental diode laser (or Soft-tissue dental laser) is a laser technology developed especially for dental practices involving soft tissue treatments. Not only have laser replaced electrocautery--an old technique reported to make patients uncomfortable, but it also has many advantages: little to no bleeding, rapid healing process, and less post-operative pain. Procedures that need diode laser are crown lengthening procedure, and soft tissue removal, root planing, minor surgery, etc. Dentists also use laser for optimizing space for the dental crown, dental implant uncovering, and assisting teeth whitening process.

CBCT machine

Dental Cone Beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a special x-ray machine moving around patients to produce high-quality images of their dental structure. After the scan, dentists will have 3D images of your overall dental structure, soft tissue, and even nerve path and bone structure. Since CBCT exposes significantly more radiation compared to a regular scanner, it’s only used in situations in which regular dental and intraoral x-ray machines are not sufficient for the result. Common procedures that need the scan of CBCT are dental implants, oral surgeries, bone grafting, and sinus lifting.

Three brand names for CBCT machines used in Vietnam are: Owandy, Planmeca, and Vatech. These are three brands that come from France, Finland and Korea. Each of these brands has its own strategy in producing product lines. For Planmeca, they target different volume sizes for different scanning purposes; they also provide 2D and 4D images in some products. Vatech, on the other hand, concentrates on innovation. They develop green technology--low-dose radiation that is less harmful to the patients and 3-in-1 systems.

3D scan, CAD/CAM technology

3D scan allows users to digitally reconstruct your teeth in 3D images, which facilitates access to the difficult or impossible part of the dental structure model. The scan can be used by both dentists and dental practitioners, the latter most of the time to save time. Dentists normally use this to diagnose issues and provide suitable treatment, usually in reconstructive therapy and oral surgery.

5. CAD/CAM (Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing) provides a wide range of dental restorations including crowns, crown lays, veneers, inlays and onlays, fixed bridges, dental implant restorations, and orthodontic appliances. The use of this technology has numerous advantages over traditional techniques including precision, quality, ease of use, speed. The quality of CAD/CAM restorations is extremely high because of the precise measurements and fabrication. From customers’ perspective, the use of CAD/CAM system helps making your artificial teeth most aesthetic, and help your dentist save a lot of time fitting them in their position.

Vietnamese’s clinics use the 3D scan from 3shape and modern CAD/CAM technology from CEREC and Dentium. 3shape is a company producing a wide range of dental technology including both 3D scan and CAD/CAM system; however, Vietnamese’ clinics generally only install their 3D scan. CEREC, of Sirona, is a ceramic restoration system using CAD/CAM technology. Patients can achieve a natural appearance after their restorations because ceramic blocks have a translucent quality that emulates enamel and they are available in a wide range of shades.

If you’re in consideration of what dental clinic to entrust, do make sure to also ask for the dental technology installed in their clinics. State-of-the-art dental technologies can ensure higher precision and safety for your dental treatment. And obviously, knowing that the clinic is using the best up-to-date technology will possibly make you feel a lot more comfortable during the procedure!