It's no longer necessary to dread your visit to the dentist. Options such as microdentistry and the laser dentistry procedures offered at our Albany-area office represent a new era in our profession. We are dedicated to staying current on the latest treatments in dental care, whether we accomplish that by offering you a speedy tooth whitening system or by incorporating advanced instruments such as the Waterlase® laser into our dentistry practice. Patients from Albany, Schenectady and surrounding cities benefit from our insistence on offering such innovations in dental care.

• Laser Dentistry
• Waterlase®
• Zoom!® Teeth Whitening
• KaVo DIAGNOdent®
• Oral Conscious Sedation
• Digital X-rays
• Intraoral Camera
• Vizilite Oral Cancer Screening

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Laser dentistry gives dentists such as Albany-area Dr. Roy Oyangen a huge advantage in providing the best possible dental care to patients. Putting these innovative tools to work in a variety of ways, we are able to: remove excess gum tissue and reshape gums to improve the smile's symmetry; reduce the time required for bonded fillings to cure or harden; enhance the effects of tooth whitening; and remove bacteria in the gums while reducing the healing time and discomfort associated with periodontal procedures.

We can laser cold sores, herpetic lesion and aphthous ulsers making them disappear in several days rather than several weeks. If we catch them in the first 48 hours they seldom ever come back.

We can use lasers to desensitize roots making them more comfortable to eat hot and cold foods.

we can laser fibromas and frenums and many times without needles.

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The Waterlase® dental laser is a breakthrough in laser dentistry. Laser energized water, Hydrokinetics™ replaces the drill in many instances. This technology eliminates the need for drills, needles, and numbness in most cases.

In our practice, we have found the Waterlase® dental laser to be extremely helpful in cleaning out chronically infected tissue when we perform root canal surgery. We also use Waterlase® to remove tooth decay, to take out old fillings that must be replaced, and to reshape or contour gum tissue when needed.

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Zoom!® Teeth Whitening

One of the quickest tooth whitening systems available, the light-activated Zoom!® in-office procedure can lighten teeth by as many as eight shades in just a single 60-minute session. The process is simple. We begin by applying a uniform coat of whitening gel containing hydrogen peroxide onto the teeth. Then, we shine a low-heat light onto the gel, which breaks down the hydrogen peroxide and allows oxygen to seep into the stained enamel. The bleaching is divided into three 20-minute applications.

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Detecting cavities early means smaller fillings, and smaller fillings mean more natural tooth can be preserved. One of the best tools in this conservative approach to dentistry is the KaVo DIAGNOdent® laser. Because even the tiniest imperfection has the potential to become, with time, a big problem, we use the laser to seek out the small spots of decay. The procedure is comfortable and quick, and the smaller an area of decay is when discovered, the less expensive it is to fill!

First, we use the KaVo DIAGNOdent® to take a reading of your healthy tooth material. Then, we aim it into the rest of your mouth, where a fluorescent light picks out cavities amid the grooves and tiny crevices of the dental surface. When we catch problems at such an early stage, correction is often just a matter of lightly removing decay.

Catch the cavity early enough and you won't need needles or novacaine.

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Even with the significant advances that modern dentistry has made in pain management and drill-free laser procedures, surveys still suggest a pervasive fear of the dentist that keeps millions of people from getting the dental care they need. Oral conscious sedation, commonly referred to as sedation dentistry, is an anxiety-relieving approach to dental procedures in which patients are given a sedative pill about an hour before their dental appointment to help them relax. Nitrous oxide is often used as well. Oral sedation dentistry is a good option for patients who exhibit any of the following characteristics:

• Fear, stress or anxiety about the dentist
• Fear of needles
• Difficulty getting numb
• Painful or sensitive teeth
• A sensitive gag reflex

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In our office, we eliminate the inconvenience of standard x-rays by using digital x-ray technology. Whereas traditional x-ray images require lab time to be developed, the digital images are available moments after we take them. In addition to saving a considerable amount of time, the process is user-friendly for both dentist and patient. You can watch as the images appear on a computer screen seconds after the x-ray is taken, and the technology allows us to enlarge, highlight, magnify, and store your x-ray photos. We can enlarge prints or email them to other doctors for further diagnosis.

Getting a good look inside patients' mouths has always been a challenge for dentists, but the pen-sized intraoral camera makes the task easier. Small enough to be maneuvered easily around the mouth and into hard-to-reach spaces, the camera allows patients to better understand their dental needs by seeing what the dentist sees and then having it explained. The camera's viewpoint can show us exactly how well you're doing with your regular home hygiene, and it's especially helpful with gum disease and other conditions that sneak up on patients without a lot of telltale pain. In addition, this sophisticated new technology can send video images to a computer to be stored, enlarged, and analyzed in depth.

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Now we have new wellness exam technology that dramatically improves our ability to screen for oral abnormalities that could lead to oral cancer. Because early detection is essential to increase chances for successful treatment, we always check your whole mouth (tongue, lips, cheek lining, and gums). We have acquired Vizilite, a state-of-the-art, painless, non-invasive screening tool that helps us to see what we can't see with the unaided eye during your routine oral cancer checkup.

What can you expect during a Vizilite examination? We'll ask you to rinse vigorously with a safe non-toxic solution for 30-60 seconds. The solution tastes a bit vinegary. After you rinse, we'll dim the lights and take a look inside your mouth with a special light that looks much like a glow stick. The entire procedure takes only about ten minutes. All of the screening kit components are discarded after use, so you will be the only patient ever tested with that kit.

Because the chemiluminescent technology will highlight any surface irregularities including normal scarring from chewing or rubbing on your gums or cheek, we mark everything down on a map or atlas of your mouth. This gives us a baseline for future reference.

We want all of our patients to have a bright and smiling future. And because in it's earliest, most treatable stages, oral cancer usually causes no pain or discomfort, we will perform this test for you every year.

Famous people who have had Oral Cancer:

• Humphrey Bogart
• Eddie Van Halen
• George Harrison
• Rod Stewart
• Sammy Davis Jr.
• Burl Ives
• Roger Ebert
• Mary Wells
• Lana Turner
• Marilyn French

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We Also Offer:

• A relaxed atmosphere with a friendly, considerate team of dental professionals
• Soothing music via headphones
• Coffee, tea, and juice refreshments
• CAESY® Educational System
• Movies during your exam
• The highest sterilization standards available
• Intraoral cameras to let you see what we see
• Relaxor massage mats to soothe those tired muscles during treatment
• Blankets, pillows, and lumbar supports
• Financial arrangements, including CareCredit® and Dental Fee Plan

If you would like more information on procedures such as Zoom!® tooth whitening or laser dentistry, contact our office convenient to Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga Springs for a cosmetic dentistry consultation.

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