By Jeff Theodore, Contributing Writer
NORTHBOROUGH – Anticipating pain prior to a dental visit is really a thing of the past with new dental techniques and technology.
Archana Karkhanis-Lavana, who operates Family Dental Group in partnership with her husband, Nikhil Lavana, makes it a priority to provide patients with a pleasant visit and a minimum of pain.
Family Dental Group has offices in Northborough, Paxton and Gardner.
“Within the last five to six years, dentistry has evolved into being more digital and computerized,” Karkhanis-Lavana said in a recent interview. “And that’s a change for the better, making dental appointments quicker and less painful.”
Some of the most popular advancements include:
- Intraoral scanning and digital printing, which offers real-time visualization for an exact mouth copy in HD 3-D images, allowing for a much faster diagnosis.
- CT scans, which take only minutes and are non-invasive, allowing dentists to examine what’s beneath the surface of the teeth and gums.
- Laser technology, which reduces the need for anesthesia, allowing for virtually painless dental work
- Dental implants, which are essentially artificial teeth that dentists secure to the jawbone, are becoming more popular every year. More than 500,000 Americans get implants annually. Overall, the process boasts a 97% success rate.
Dentist notes value of implants
Karkhanis-Lavana has gone through intense training to become a specialist in the dental implant procedure.
“It used to be only specialists who performed dental implants but now the training has evolved so general dentists like me are doing them,” she said, noting that she started doing so in 2016.
Compared to dentures, Karkhanis-Lavana believes dental implants are the best bet for most patients.
“Implants can be placed all over the mouth while dentures are pretty cumbersome,” she says. “Implants are like getting a tooth back.”
Karkhanis-Lavana says she finds it very rewarding to do tooth restoration because it helps boost a patient’s self-esteem.
“Dentistry is an important part of getting back to normal life,” she said. “I appreciate aesthetics and it’s satisfying to restore smiles. The condition of a person’s teeth can hold them back. So, giving someone back their smile is what inspires me every day.”
Karkhanis-Lavana graduated from Tufts University Dental School in 2000. During the same year, her husband, Nikhil, completed his studies at Boston University’s Goldman School of Dentistry. Mohamed Hassan, the third member of the dentistry group, is a board-certified periodontist and faculty member in the periodontist department at Harvard University.
Karkhanis-Lavana, a self-proclaimed “people person,” said that word-of-mouth has been a great way to attract new customers. However, education is also a valuable tool so the dental group disseminates “share enough to care” cards, which offer new patients an exam and bitewing x-rays for only one dollar, provided that a patron schedules a regular cleaning at the same time.
Dentist shares advice
Karkhanis-Lavana says it shouldn’t be daunting to maintain a nice smile. She advises her patients to brush their teeth twice daily, floss and schedule dental visits at least twice a year. She said that during the pandemic, she’s noticed that patients have been lagging regarding their dental maintenance, and that’s an easy problem to remedy.
“It’s important not to ‘fall off the wagon’ because simple care will keep your teeth from giving you a hard time with cavities and gum disease,” she said.
Learn more about Family Dental Group by visiting their website, www.lavanafamilydental.com.
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