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Conveniently located in the Southgate Mall in Missoula, Montana.  For directions click here

 

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What's going on at Family Dental Group?

New Technology:

Digital Radiograpy!

You are probably familiar with digital cameras and digital photos that you can print, e-mail and share over the internet.  We are now doing the same thing with Dental X-rays.  The best part is that you can see your x-rays on a high quality flat screen monitor right after we take them.  Your dentist can show you right on the screen what's happening inside your teeth. 

The Florida Probe.

We've added a periodontal (gum tissue) sensor called the Florida Probe to our hygiene department.  This new system directly links to our computer network so you can immediately see the results of your examination.  By combining user friendly graphics and a computerized voice, the system can help you easily identify areas that need additional attention while brushing and flossing.  This is a great preventative tool that helps our patients identify small periodontal problems before they grow into large ones.

Radio Surgery is Here!

We have added a new radio surgery device to our practice.  The Ellman DentoSurg 90 allows our dentists to perform types of periodontal surgery and soft tissue biopsies with very little bleeding and decreased post operative discomfort.  Radio surgery also promotes faster healing and decreases the chances of post operative complications.  Radio surgery compares very favorably to laser surgery for these types of applications.

Diagnodent Diagnostic Laser.

We are now using a Diagnodent diagnostic laser to enable our dentists to detect cavities that are beginning to form below the surface of tooth enamel.  The Diagnodent works well for the biting surface of teeth because  x-rays have difficulty detecting decay in this area.  This is very important both to allow us to stop small cavities before they get larger and when planning to place a sealant on a tooth.  

Sealants are an excellent way to prevent cavities but if an undetected cavity has already started, a sealant won't stop it from growing.  With the diagnodent, we can make sure those cavities are detected before the sealants are applied so our patients receive the maximum benefit of sealant protection.  If the Diagnodent detects dental decay we are sure a filling is necessary.

Family Dental Group donates network idle time to cancer research project.

We have joined Team Montana in the quest to find a cure for cancer.  The University of Oxford and Intel have developed a screen saver that uses the idle time of PCs to create a virtual supercomputer.  It is easy to download and install.  Millions of small computers around the world are spending their spare time simulating laboratory research to develop new cancer medicine and therapies.  This saves researchers millions of dollars and years of experimentation.  Different groups are joining together as teams to show their region or organizations support for the project.  We being proud Montanans, we naturally joined Team Montana.  Please join us all in this very worthy effort. 

New Services:

More Evening Hours!

Our dentists are now seeing patients until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  We've also extended our very popular Saturday hours by over 40%.  The clinic is now open Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

Expanded Hygiene Schedule!

We are now offering more evening and Friday appointments.  Evenings have been our most popular hours for Dental Hygiene and we've expanded those hours to noon to 7:00 pm on Mondays and 10:00 am - 8:00 pm Tuesday-Thursday.  We've also had a lot of families ask for Friday appointments so we now have a dental hygienist who comes in especially for our Friday patients from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.   

We are lucky to have our dental hygiene team of Lisa Belknap and Vicki San Souchi.  Vicki is our Friday hygienist and Lisa sees patients Monday - Thursday.

New equipment:

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Panographic X-ray.  We have replaced our old panographic x-ray machine with a new, handicapped accessible model.  This new machine will enhance our diagnostic capabilities, reduce the already low x-ray exposure rates in our office and better accommodate our patients who use wheelchairs.  

 
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Statim instrument sterilizer.  We are now using the Statim 5000 instrument sterilization system.  This state of the art autoclave is able to cycle thoroughly sterilized instruments back into service 80% faster than our old system.   This helps us ensure everything is ready for your visit and helps us save you money by not having as many instrument sets in inventory.

 
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KAVO handpieces.  We are now using the very best air driven handpiece (drill) on the market, the KAVO 635B.  This is a new, ergonomically designed system with much higher torque (more efficient), significant noise reduction and superior reliability.  

 

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Closed source water system.  We have installed a closed source water system.  This gives us the ability to use water we distill on site and drain all lines at the end of the day.  The dry air in the lines deprives harmful bacteria of a habitable environment.  Many patients are concerned about possible contamination from bacteria that can form in city water or static dental water lines.  While the risk of contamination from traditional systems is extremely low, we decided to push our infection control far beyond the minimum standards.  Things just can't be too clean in a dentists office.

 

 

 

If there is something you'd like to see, please e-mail our site Administrator, at Admin@familydentalgroup.net. 

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