Work, school, children, and the demands of an increasingly multitasking lifestyle pull us in ten directions from the moment we hit the button on the alarm. We stuff our schedules with drive-through coffee shops, dry cleaning in an hour and 8-minute abs; not to mention instant news updates, status updates, and if you’re “lucky” enough to get your work email on your phone, task updates.

So if we’re doing everything else better, faster and stronger, how does your next dental visit compare?

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• A porcelain crown used to be a two-visit affair, sometimes weeks apart, but today’s technology allows a dentist to fabricate many types of crowns in a single visit. A computerized milling machine paired with digital imaging can produce a porcelain crown in an hour.
• Digital radiographs make an x-ray image of your tooth that’s ready to view in a split second – no need to wait for film to develop.
•  Your smile could be made four shades lighter in an hour, without the need for mouth trays that are worn for two weeks. Powerful peroxide gels are applied and activated with a light.
•  When a front tooth chips away before an important meeting, it’s bonded with a color matched resin filling. Your smile is restored in 30 minutes and no one is the wiser. Your natural tooth is minimally touched and an anesthetic isn’t necessary.
•  If you have a toothache, the infected pulp in the center of the tooth is cleaned and sealed the same day. A fast acting anesthetic numbs you in minutes, and a precision nickel-titanium rotary file cleans the infection away quicker than in the past.
•  When we add a generous dose of fear, it’s no wonder that we want to finish our treatment in a single visit. Minimal sedation is available for those anxious and tense visits. Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) used alone or in conjunction with anti-anxiety medication can help ease you through an appointment.

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Keep in mind, not everything is appropriate for same-day treatment. Don’t extend your body beyond its limit. This is your health we’re talking about, after all! Consult with your dentist, and ask whether you are a good candidate to have the treatment completed in one day. Then just relax and dazzle everyone with your smile.