Until the recent introduction of laser dentistry by some Charlotte practices, most visits to a Charlotte dental clinic meant facing the dreaded drill. To be fair, the loud noise is probably much worse than any actual pain. Most reliable dentists use a local anesthetic to relieve patient discomfort.  However, the mental stress to the patient is still a problem. Sedation dentistry by Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, does help a lot of patients, especially in cases of reconstructive surgery that require extensive work.

What is laser dentistry?

When you speak of lasers, most people think of the bright LED beams used for teeth whitening or even laser eye surgery. However, some of the best dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, in Charlotte NC are now using a completely different type of laser technology to replace the traditional dentist’s drill.

Laser dentistry uses a stream of water along with a laser, reducing heat levels to near zero. All the patient feels is the sensation of the water, since there is no harsh vibration as noticed in traditional drilling. The second big difference is in the noise levels; laser dentistry produces nothing more than a few gentle clicks. A trustworthy dentist with the right skills can use this technology for most common surgical procedures.

Who can benefit from laser dentistry?

Reliable dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, use laser dentistry to remove damaged tooth material and clear away infected gum tissue. This has made it beneficial in most reconstructive dentistry procedures, where a tooth may be damaged. Typically, the best dentists can use the focused laser to do a much better job than with a drill. It allows them better control of both location and depth of drilling. Once the laser drilling is complete, reconstructive dentistry uses fillings or caps to complete the procedure and restore a normal smile.  

Restorative dentistry also benefits from laser drilling. This branch of dental care deals with diseases of the gum and tooth. The precise nature of laser surgery makes it ideal to clean out infected gum tissue or the nerve in root canal procedures.  A reliable dentist can use a laser to quickly empty and clean a cavity without disturbing the patient. Only a couple of the most trusted dentists in Charlotte, namely Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, can offer this level of skill in both restorative dentistry and reconstructive dentistry.  

Is laser dentistry completely painless?

Most patients who compare it with personal experiences of traditional drilling seem to think so. Of course, any reliable dentist would expect some level of discomfort and warn the patient about it. If required, a local anesthetic could be administered. For really complicated restorative dentistry or reconstructive dentistry, the best dental practices also have sedation dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, who are trained to use oral medication for a completely pain-free experience. 

If you are interested in the most up-to-date, advanced laser technology for dental procedures, visit our Charlotte cosmetic dentist office, Ballantyne Center for Dentistry and make an appointment.

Are you afraid of the dentist?  Does just thinking about the dentist make you nervous?  Then sedation dentistry is for you.  Ballantyne Center for Dentistry offers several different options in sedation dentistry.  Sedation dentistry makes most dental procedures possible in the most pleasant way you can imagine. Sedation is a process where we administer medicines to reduce anxiety and apprehension in order for you to be relaxed during the procedure without worry or pain.  It will last long enough to safely complete the dental procedure. 

There are many benefits of sedation dentistry- also sometimes called twilight or sleep dentistry.  First is feeling no pain during the dental process, another is that you will stay calm and at rest during the procedure, therefore it is easier for your Charlotte cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda, to complete the dental work on time without any hassle and unwanted movements. Pain is objective, and not everyone feel the same amount of pain, since we have different responses and tolerance to it, but all of us prefer to avoid pain and discomfort, so the sedation dentist is available with options for you.

With most of the longer dental procedures, we use at least light sedation dentistry. It is not really a type of sedation that will make you sleep, but will calm you enough to reduce the anxiety and tension you may have prior to the procedure. You will still be conscious and will be able to respond to the dentist’s verbal and physical stimulation.

The mode of sedation may be in the form of a tablet that the patient will drink upon arriving at the dentist’s office. Sedation dentistry may also be in the form of gas for inhalation, which is more popularly known as the laughing gas, or this may be in the form of an injection or intravenous (IV).

Sedatives will be administered in the office and sometimes just before coming to the office and even the night before.  After the procedure, you will be allowed to rest before you leave the practice.  It is best to come to the dental facility with a friend or a family member to drive you to and from the dentist to assure a safe travel for certain types of sedation dentistry. Your Charlotte sedation dentist will give you instructions based on which type of sedation dentistry you choose for your procedure.

There are a number of dental works that may need sedation in order to complete the process successfully. Some of the dental procedures where you may use sedation dentistry are root canals, dental veneers, dental implants, crown, bridges, tooth extraction, filling, and even prophylaxis to those patients who are extra sensitive.

With this type of gentle dentistry, your fear of the dentist will be gone! Your teeth will no longer be neglected and you will receive the utmost care. There is no need to suffer from cavities, missing teeth, pain, sensitivity, and many more, because your Charlotte sedation dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda here at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, are here to help you get your ideal smile.

NuCalm, the revolutionary new technology, has been proven to naturally put a patient at ease. Your Charlotte cosmetic dentists, Dr. Christian Yaste and Dr. Joe Hufanda at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, are thrilled to be able to offer this technology to our patients. Sedation dentistry is a field that expands every day, and this latest discovery may be the best of all in helping patient overcome their innate fear of the dentist.

This cosmetic dentistry technology is completely drug-free and has no recovery period or side effects. NuCalm puts you at ease quickly by replicating the natural process that readies your body for sleep. You know that quiet, relaxed state you feel just before you doze off? That is what you will experience with NuCalm, and you will awake feeling rejuvenated.

Nearly all patients who have experienced NuCalm say they would choose it again, and they would certainly recommend it to friends and family members. Not only will your fear of the dentist be gone, but you will actually think of it as a pleasurable and enjoyable experience. You will leave the office feeling refreshed and glad you showed up, rather than the typical pain and regret we feel after a normal excruciating dentist visit.

So, what is NuCalm?

Basically, it is a clinical solution which transforms a patient’s brain waves function into the initial sleep stage. The best part is that this is done in a revolutionary way, without the use of narcotics. NuCalm was developed by world-class neuroscientists, and has been utilized on tens of thousands of patients throughout the U.K. and U.S. Cosmetic dentists have seen unprecedented satisfaction rates, and this could virtually revolutionize the entire field of cosmetic dentistry.

How safe is NuCalm?

The short answer is that nothing could be safer than NuCalm. It is all-natural and uses no controlled substances of any kind. To date, sedation dentistry experts have used it on nearly 22,000 patients in the United States, without a single adverse reaction being reported. NuCalm merely imitates the pathways that our body uses to get ready for sleep.

How will I feel during the treatment?

Don’t misunderstand how NuCalm works; brain activity will not stop. A patient cycles through many thoughts, but will have trouble focusing on a single thought pattern, much like how you feel before drifting off the sleep. The body relaxes, limbs start to feel heavier, and you slowly lose all sense of space and time. 

What can I expect to feel right after the procedure?

You will feel great! It will feel like a “power nap” of sorts, with a renewed sense of euphoria and energy. Many patients who have chosen this option have reported afterwards that they felt as though they just had a deep tissue massage (without the pain of course).

So, if you’ve been putting off a procedure because you have a general fear of the dentist, sedation dentistry is here to help. Make an appointment today, and let Drs. Yaste and Hufanda, at Ballantyne Center for Dentistry in Charlotte show you how NuCalm can change your entire outlook on the dental experience.

NuCalm is the latest tool at the disposal of Ballantyne Center for Dentistry, your local Charlotte cosmetic dentists. You can begin your procedure feeling completely relaxed and without stress, and no controlled substances are necessary. What NuCalm does is bring your body to that euphoric stage just before you fall asleep. The best part is that you won’t fall asleep (unless you are sleep deprived already), and this feeling will last for the duration of your appointment. There is no reason to have a fear of the dentist anymore.

The NuCalm process

NuCalm has four individual components that work in conjunction with each other to put you into a state of calmness. It will be administered immediately after you are seated, and takes approximately three to five minutes to take effect.  

Your NuCalm sedation dentistry appointment begins with giving you chewable tablets that are scientifically designed to counteract adrenaline. It is a proprietary formula that only NuCalm possesses, and it creates natural relaxation.  Micro-current patches will be placed behind the ears to help you relax quicker.

Further dissipating your fear of the dentist, you will be fitted with noise-deadening headphones. They will deliver layers of proprietary soothing music that takes your brain to its pre-sleep state of 8Hz to 12Hz per second.

The last step in your cosmetic dentistry preparation will be a pair of blacked-out glasses. These are used to eliminate visual stimuli that may hinder the relaxation process.

These four components combined will provide an effective and powerful relaxation experience during any cosmetic dentistry procedure. The more anxious and stressed you are at the onset of your appointment, the more impressive the relaxation effect will be.

The NuCalm experience

We all know that feeling we get as we are slowly drifting off to sleep. Your mind wanders to things that occurred during the day, or to a list of things you have to do the following day. You slowly start to let yourself relax and feel gravity gradually drawing you into your pillow and bed. You might start having short daydreams, or perhaps experience body twitching, which is caused by a buildup of lactic acid. Your breathing becomes deep and you enter what is known as the Alpha sleep stage. 

Thanks to advances in sedation dentistry, NuCalm provides you with that exact same experience that was just described. You will still be in the chair, and the procedure will occur in the same manner as it always does, but you will be completely lost in relaxation and unaware of what is going on. Who would ever have thought deep relaxation would be possible outside of a spa? Well, thanks to NuCalm, you can leave your dental appointment feeling like you are walking out of a day-long spa treatment.

No longer having a fear of the dentist can completely alter how you approach your dental health. Think of all the appointments you intentionally missed because you were too afraid to go. Make a call to Ballantyne Center for Dentistry today, and let them show you what NuCalm can do for you. 

Do you hate the dentist? I "feel" your pain…continued (part II)

I had just entered the emergency department at the dental school. Now that I had some time to absorb it all, it became evident to me that the front of my face was starting to hurt. One of my professors saw me and I lifted my hand from my mouth to expose the damage. Now this is where things really went south for me.

Her immediate reaction was one of mild disgust, if there is such a thing. Here I was, along with at least a dozen other people who had walked in for some dental problem or another. This was going to put a real wrench in her schedule. Someone took me back to a dental chair and she came in to examine me. No sooner had I opened up than a huge needled was jammed into the roof of my mouth and the worst, most painful dental shot I had ever had, was delivered. My eyes immediately teared up as a reaction to the pain. “Quit being such a baby”, she spouted. Over the next thirty minutes she poked and proded, and made a few phone calls to various clinics within the school to see if they could take me off of her already very busy hands. Finally, with a numb face and a piece of bloody gauze, I was escorted to the oral surgery clinic. The surgeons were a little less grumpy with me, but no more gentle. No one told me what they were doing or what to expect. Was I going to lose my front teeth? How would I be able to be a dentist with no teeth! After what seemed like hours I finally ended up in the root canal clinic. Here is where things changed.

A young dentist came over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. He sat down and asked me how I was feeling and what had happened. Then he told me what they were going to try to do to save my front teeth, or what was left of them. At last I felt like maybe there was some hope for me. Maybe I would be able to look normal again.

After that things kind of blur together and I don’t remember much of that day. I do remember however, thinking that I was going to have to quit dental school or find a better way to practice dentistry. Fortunately, I stayed in school and with the help of my friend Joe (and now my business partner) we founded a dental office in Charlotte, North Carolina that is specifically designed to help people who are dental phobics or have high dental fear.

Although that encounter happened almost 18 years ago, the memory is still fresh in my mind. I still get chills when I recall it. Maybe you have had a similar experience. We know how it “feels.”  Check out our sedation page and see how we can help you....click HERE

Do you hate the dentist? I "feel" your pain.

Lots of our patients are petrified of going to the dentist. I have heard so many things about my fellow colleagues from years ago….sometimes it just makes me cringe! Stuff like “my dentist didn’t believe in novacaine”. What! Since when was giving anesthetic a religion? I can't imagine why a dentist would purposely withhold something from a patient that would make them more comfortable.  Another thing I hear fairly often is a description of how a dentist held down my patient to get a tooth out or some such thing. Just visualizing this is painful.

I remember my first negative visit to the dentist. I was actually in dental school of all places. It was early on a crisp January morning and my buddy and I had ridden our mountain bikes to school. Although it was chilly, there was no snow and the roads were clear. We got all the way to the parking deck and then I hit it….Black Ice! Wham! Over the handlebars and onto concrete…face first. It was a surreal experience. All of the sudden I was on my knees, and I could feel that my front teeth were broken to bits. I was in shock and all I could think about was digging around to try and find my broken teeth. Finally realizing there was no way I was going to find the pieces of my teeth, I hobbled down to the emergency clinic…..what happened next, you wouldn’t believe.

Or….maybe you would.

To be continued….

Dr. Y