So what do you do? You are worried about deteriorating teeth...gums...smile? But afraid of going to the dentist? There is a whole new dental technology emerging that is created to avoid the normal pain of dental work. Using newly designed tools, many dental procedures can now be done with no pain and no anesthetic required.

Beverly Hill's cosmetic dentist, Kourosh Maddahi, explains the newest tools. "Drill-free dentistry by air-abrasion is like a mini sandblaster aimed to take the decay out of the tooth with a fine aluminum oxide (baking soda) powder. Drill-free air abrasion dentistry is every patient's dream. No whining drills, no burning smell (the teeth never get hot), no vibration, and therefore no anesthetic."

"Drill-free dentistry goes hand-in-glove with DIAGNOdent, a laser system that finds decayed areas prior to even seeing the hole on the surface of the tooth, thereby locating decayed areas that x-rays do not detect. Plus drill-free air abrasion dentistry allows the cosmetic dentist to practice micro-dentistry, the removal of small hard to get to fissure and pit decay. Prior to this technology the dentist had to remove healthy tooth structure to clean out a small hole."

"The old school dentists were programmed to "watch" teeth like this because using the tools available would cause the loss of too much tooth structure to get out the decay. Now with micro dentistry's air abrasion the decay can be delicately removed without the large loss of healthy tooth structure."

Dr. Maddahi also employs the newest implements for anesthesia. The Citoject is a pen shaped devise that works to numb only the tooth, not the tongue, cheek, face and lips, making anesthetic injections essentially painless. He explains, "What causes the pain of an injection is not the needle but the rate of delivery of the anesthetic. Before the Citoject, using conventional methods, few dentists would be painless. However with the Citoject a micro compressor controls the rate of the injection so patients feel only a slight pressure, no pain. I try very hard to put the patient's comfort first. I have used the Citoject since it first came on the market."

The other suggested tool he uses is a laser. Laser dentistry has been proclaimed the latest technological advancement in dentistry. It is used for soft tissue surgery, curing, and sterilizing with the benefit of no anesthetic needed or just topical anesthetic to get started. Beverly Hills cosmetic dentist, Kourosh Maddahi's entire staff underwent training on the soft tissue laser so all understand the application and value for patients.

Dr. Maddahi says, "My primary focus of looking after the patient's comfort using the least invasive procedures has kept me on the cutting edge of technological breakthroughs. Our hygienists routinely use the laser to kill bacterial caused periodontal disease for up to 60 days. The benefit to the patient is that it is more effective and less traumatic than conventional methods because it uses the power of light to vaporize soft tissue without bleeding. The precision of laser dentistry helps the patient heal with the least post-operative pain. We also use the soft tissue laser to re-contour gum lines for the best possible smile makeover."

Dr. Kourosh Maddahi, has been specializing in creating beautiful, natural smiles for 20 years and is located in Beverly Hills at 436 N. Roxbury Drive, Suite 202 and can be reached at 310-888-7797.