Less Is More in Dentistry

Less is more in dentistry: today's care means less pain, less drilling and less radiation than many people remember from years ago. Visits are often shorter too. Stronger natural-looking materials, better techniques and precise diagnostic tools have all helped. At Southern York Smile Care in Shrewsbury, PA, they mean less of what once made people dread a dental visit.

Combine those advances with the experience of Dr. Steven Haywood, who has more than 35 years in practice, and the result is care that is gentler and more conservative. Here is what "less" looks like today.

Less pain and less anxiety

Fear of pain keeps many people away from the dentist. Today, there are more ways than ever to keep you comfortable.

• Better numbing: Modern local anesthetics work well, and a numbing gel applied first makes the injection itself far more comfortable.
• Oral sedation: A prescribed pill taken before your appointment helps more anxious patients feel deeply relaxed.
• A calm pace: Simply taking time, explaining each step and agreeing on a signal to pause makes a big difference.

Southern York Smile Care offers oral sedation. Learn more on our sedation dentistry page, or read Help! I'm Afraid of the Dentist.

If you feel nervous, say so when you book. Knowing ahead of time lets the team plan a little extra time, talk through your options for staying comfortable, and make sure you never feel rushed. Many patients find that once they understand each step, much of the worry fades on its own.

Less drilling and less loss of healthy tooth

Older methods often removed a good deal of healthy tooth to make room for a filling or crown. Today the goal is to save as much natural tooth as possible.

Finding decay earlier

The earlier decay is found, the smaller the repair. DIAGNOdent uses a gentle laser to detect hidden decay in the grooves of teeth, often before it shows on an X-ray. An intraoral camera shows you, on screen, exactly what Dr. Haywood sees.

Gentler ways to remove decay

Air abrasion uses a fine stream of particles to remove small areas of decay, often without the vibration of a drill and sometimes without the need for numbing. It is ideal for small, early cavities.

Conservative restorations

Tooth-colored fillings bond directly to the tooth, so less healthy structure has to be removed than with older silver fillings. Southern York Smile Care is mercury-free and uses BPA-free white fillings. For cosmetic changes, prepless veneers need little or no removal of natural enamel, and cosmetic bonding adds material rather than taking it away. Inlays and onlays can repair a damaged tooth while saving more of it than a full crown.

Less radiation and fewer messy impressions

Diagnostic tools have improved as much as treatments.

• Digital X-rays use up to 90% less radiation than traditional film and appear on screen in seconds.
• The iTero Element 3D scanner captures a digital model of your teeth, so many patients avoid trays of impression putty.
• Green CT, a 3D cone beam scan, shows bone, nerves and sinuses in three dimensions for precise implant planning.

See our dental technology page for the full list.

Less time to heal

Dental lasers have changed how some soft tissue procedures are done. The office has a Picasso laser, a soft-tissue dental laser. In general, laser treatment of the gums can mean less bleeding and swelling, and often a more comfortable recovery, than traditional methods. Lasers can be used for gum contouring, such as a cosmetic gum lift, and in some gum treatments.

Implant care has become less invasive too. With 3D planning and guided implant surgery, implants can be placed through a smaller opening in the gum in suitable cases, which can help healing go more smoothly.

Less risk and more predictable results

The overall success rates of many dental procedures, including implants, have improved as materials, imaging and techniques have advanced. Careful planning is a big part of that. When your dentist can see bone volume and nerve positions in 3D before treatment, there are fewer surprises.

Dr. Haywood is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and an Elite Invisalign Provider, and trained in cosmetic dentistry through the NYU Aesthetic Continuum. Ongoing training like this keeps care current. Learn more on our meet the doctor page.

Less metal in your mouth

Many patients today prefer fewer metals in their dental work. Southern York Smile Care does not place silver amalgam fillings, and tooth-colored options are available for fillings, crowns and veneers. Straightening is done with Invisalign clear aligners, not metal braces. Patients who prefer a whole-body approach can read about our holistic dentistry.

A small cavity, then and now

To see how far things have come, picture a simple cavity treated a generation ago. The decay might not have been found until it showed clearly on film X-rays, by which point it was larger. A metal filling meant drilling away extra healthy tooth to hold it in place. The filling was dark, and over the years the tooth around it could crack.

Today, the same cavity can often be spotted earlier with DIAGNOdent and low-radiation digital X-rays. You can see it yourself on the intraoral camera screen. If it is small, air abrasion may remove the decay with little or no numbing. A tooth-colored filling bonds to what remains, so more of your natural tooth is saved, and the repair blends in.

That is the heart of less-is-more dentistry: catch problems small, treat them gently, and keep as much of you as possible.

More of what matters

Less pain, drilling and downtime leaves room for more of the good things: more time with your dentist, more natural tooth saved, and more confidence in your smile. Every cleaning at Southern York Smile Care is a full 60 minutes, so there is time to clean thoroughly and answer your questions. Regular visits are themselves a form of less-is-more: the more often small problems are caught, the less treatment you are likely to need.

The office is out of network with every insurer: you pay at your visit and the team files your claim for reimbursement. CareCredit and Cherry payment plans are available; see financing.

Southern York Smile Care is welcoming new patients from Shrewsbury, York, southern York County and northern Baltimore County. We offer general dentistry, sedation dentistry, cosmetic dentistry and dental implants. To schedule an exam, cleaning or consultation, call (717) 235-3871 or request an appointment. New patients can read our new patient information first.

About the authorDr. Steven Haywood, DDS

DDS cum laude 1987, US Air Force residency, NYU cosmetic training and Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, with 35+ years in practice.

Meet Dr. Haywood →