Dr Dinesh Singham Talks About The Dental Operating Microscope (DOM)

Seeing is believing.

Dr Dinesh Singham (1300SMILES Fulham Road Surgery) can now explore more than ever before with the Dental Operating Microscope (DOM). Available to all patients, this new technology enables Dinesh to explore hidden areas within the teeth. We asked Dinesh to tell us about the DOM…

Is there a benefit for patients to use the Dental Operating Microscope?
The main benefit for the Dental Operating Microscope (DOM) is it allows me to see into the patient's mouth/teeth at higher magnification and illumination. The magnification range is from 3x to 20x. There's the old adage "you can't treat what you can't see". Well now, I can see a lot better!!!

What are the main benefits?
There are four main benefits for the patient:

1. My actual treatment ie drilling and restoring of teeth is much more precise leading to more predictable results and "precision" dentistry.

2. Preventative dentistry - problems can be identified and treated earlier.
This results in more conservative and less invasive treatment required to fix the patient's problem. For example think about a tiny crack in a tooth. With the DOM, I'm able to clearly see this crack and treat it earlier, minimising the risk of abscess formation or a broken tooth in the future which may require the tooth to be extracted.

3. I'm able to take photos through the microscope which can show the patient what is happening in their mouth.

4. I'm also seated further away from the patient and it’s less of an invasion of their personal space than if I'm right in their face.

Is there any significant difference for root canal therapy or endodontics?
This is an area where the operating microscope makes a big difference.

Successful endodontics is dependant on the identification and treatment of the root canal system within the tooth while preserving as much tooth structure as possible.

With the DOM, I'm able to locate more canals (treat more of the root canal system) within the tooth and remove minimal tooth structure (leaving a stronger tooth).

This gives me a higher success rate of treatment and again more predictable results. In fact the DOM is becoming an essential piece of equipment in most endodontic specialist practices throughout Australia.

You can make an appointment with Dr Singha at his Fulham Road surgery (Townsville) by call 1300SMILES on 07 4775 6655.