Air Abrasion Painless Cleaning Technique

Many people associate the high-pitched whirring of a dental drill with pain. Just the sound alone can make many people wince. But there's a better alternative that is minimally invasive and offers several benefits, called air abrasion.

Also referred to as dental air polishing, it's a modern technique that uses powerful particles of aluminum oxide to remove debris and decay on the surface of teeth. The most exciting thing for patients is that air abrasion is painless and reduces the need for local anesthetics.

Air abrasion leaves behind a gritty feeling in your mouth, which is simply rinsed away almost instantaneously using a small suction device. 

Tiny cracks and imperfections on a tooth can be fixed using air abrasion as well. Although air abrasion is not suitable for work on crowns and bridges, it is often used for bonding procedures, and on tooth restorations involving composite, or tooth-colored fillings. Large cavities and the removal of old fillings may still necessitate a more traditional technique in some circumstances