Our office is dedicated with providing the most up-to-date and evidence-based clinical services and we pride ourselves on the fact that we can truly call ourselves a technologically advanced office. Here are some reason why:
Digital dental record software
Capitol Hill Montlake Dentistry utilizes Kodak Softdent dental software to help us work smarter, more efficiently, and most importantly effectively manage your individual dental treatment. This digital dental record software has many advantages over traditional pen and paper records and results in benfits for both the dental practice and the patient; it allows for consistency and legible communication between patient visits, all patient records such as treatment plans, x-rays, clinical notes, and charts are centralized and nothing is lost or misplaced, and account finances including insurance payments are clear and trackable. In addition to this, Kodak Softdent allows for easy transmission of your files from our office into your personal records or to a dental/medical specialist that you decide to see. Lastly with the government mandating all medical and dental files to be digital by the year 2014, you’ll already be ahead of the game!
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Digital radiography (X-rays) and intraoral photos
When seeing your dentist, dental radiographs, or X-rays, are an important part of a thorough dental examination. A full set of X-rays (18) is usually required for patients who are new to a dental practice, or who need extensive treatment. Two to four follow-up or check-up X-rays called "bite-wings" are necessary every 12-18 months, depending on each individual patient’s needs. The most common questions we receive about dental x-rays are: is it safe? And how much x-ray am I exposed to?
Here at Capitol Hill Dentistry we are very concerned about minimizing the amount of exposure our patients receive. This is why we use a digital x-ray system which delivers high speed film with minimal radiation and cover your thyroid, upper chest and lap with a lead apron. In comparison with conventional dental x-rays, our x-ray exposure is 1/8 the amount of radiation. This means it takes 8 of our x-rays to equal the amount of exposure you would receive with 1 conventional x-ray at another practice. We want to ensure you that our dental x-rays are both safe and effective. On top of providing safe and effective image quality for your x-rays, digital x-rays allow Dr. Chin to obtain the images quickly and diagnose treatment, if necessary, instantaneously. Lastly, the digital system allows us to manipulate images for greater and more precise diagnostic abilities.
In conjunction with our digital x-rays, our clinical team also utilizes intraoral photos to help diagnose treatment by evaluating the appearance and condition of the enamel and gingival tissues. We also use these photos to educate our patients on their oral health and show them aspects of their teeth they never knew existed.
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Pro- consult
After your initial exam, Dr. Chin will suggest a personalized dental treatment plan to optimize your dental health. To better educate his patients to make sure they understand their treatment options, all operatories are equipped with Pro-consult, a dental education animation system that provides voice capabilities, over 800 animated slide show presentations and 3D animated graphics with movies on General Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, Implants, Periodontics (gum treatment) , Orthodontics and Endodontic (root canal) procedures.
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Cadent iTero: Impressionless dental technology and 3D dentistry
Designed to replace conventional impressions, the Cadent iTero impressionless system is an exciting new technology in dentistry. iTero uses laser and optical scanning to obtain the most precise structure and contour of each individual tooth. The system captures and creates a real time 3D image of the tooth structures and surrounding gingival tissue, enabling the doctor with an instant opportunity for correction and confirmation of the preparation.
Tero replaces the “dreaded goop”, unpleasant taste, drooling, and gagging associated with traditional impression taking, iTero enables Capitol Hill Dentistry to offer their patients a technology driven impression procedure. By using a hand-held wand to optically scan the area to be restored, the patients’ entire impression is created 100% digitally with no mess or bad taste. This translates into a more comfortable impression process and restorations that look and feel like natural teeth.
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In-operatory TV monitors
When Dr. Chin started his practice over 25 years ago, one of his main goals was to ensure all of his patients are educated on their dental health; he call this “patient’s dental IQ”. This includes educating patients on proven prevention efforts, knowledge of performed dental procedures, and at home oral health care. To pursue his vision, in each operatory we mount large flat screen television monitors which we use to display intraoral photos, x-rays, animated dental procedural videos, and treatment options to patients at each visit. We want to create an atmosphere of trust and have our patients feel comfortable about their current and future dental treatment. By using the television monitors, patients are able to see the evidence based reason why they need certain procedures, visualize angles and images of their teeth that they were unaware of, and experience digital animations of treatment options. Lastly, the best part about the television monitors is that it provides patients with a comfortable experience while watching their favorite cable channels during your procedures. Much better then staring at a blank ceiling!
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Zoom! 2 Whitening system
We know your smile is important. Why not make the best first impression with a white beautiful smile. We understand there are other whitening options but want to let you know that those “at home” kits when not administered by a dental professional may cause irreversible enamel degradation, gum recession and breakdown, and it may take over a month to see results. Here at Capitol Hill Dentistry we provide safe and immediate dental whitening results by utilizing the Zoom! 2 Whitening system. In comparison with Zoom! 1 and unlike other whitening options, Zoom! 2 can whiten teeth by 8 shades in about 2 hours, providing immediate results that are safe when performed by a dental professional.
There is even a home whitening kit by Zoom! called the Zoom Weekender Kit. This uses an innovative patent-pending gel to whiten your teeth. It is similar to the in office gel, but less potent. It uses a dual-barrel syringe to keep the two different formulas from mixing, until you use them, allowing it to whiten teeth in two different ways. One chemical is meant to improve the gel's penetration into the teeth. The second is meant to control the activation of hydrogen peroxide, the chemical that actually whitens the teeth. In 3 nights this system can whiten your teeth by six shades. This system does not provide as big of a difference, or as fast, as the in office system but some people find it preferable.
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Online communication, account access and scheduling options
We know you have busy lives and we want to help! Our office and clinical staff members are tech-savy. As a patient of Dr. Chin's you have many options to communicate with us, to access your financial and track your insurnace payments, as well as schedule appointments. Please email us at [email protected] to schedule an appointment, or answer any questions you have reguarding appointments, insurance, and treatment.
A) Online communication
To aid you in keeping track of your dental appointments, our office sends each patient a 2 week appointment reminder as well as a 3 day appointment reminder. In this email you have the option to click a confirm button to let us know you plan to arrive, or you can automatically send us a reply email back letting us know you need to reschedule. Feel free to also email us about anything at [email protected]. If emailing us is not an option for you, or you prefer to speak with someone personally, do not hesitate to call us.
B) Account and financial information
All patients who provide their email to us, will also have the ability to sign into their account online or check upcoming appointments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By going to the home page at drhenrychin.com, patients can login with the given username and password sent to their email. On the main screen after logging in, each patient can manage and access their financial account by viewing personal payments made, as well as insurance payments. Here you can also see and track dates and names of procedures you have had performed at this office for your own personal record! This option is great because you are able to keep record of your own dental history and procedures and even compare it to your estimation of benefits from your insurance company. Lastly, you are able to make secure onine payments to your account using your credit card instead of sending a check; thus alleviating the need for postage or paper.
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Dentra- Patient Satisfaction
To ensure patient satisfaction, our office utilizes your email to offer you a chance to ANONOMOUSLY rate our office. This survey is sent to each patient the same day of their visit; and again is completely anonymous and optional, so feel free to be truthful. Here our patients are able to rate us on certain aspects such as wait time, clinical and front staff interaction, ability to understand explained procedures, in addition to in-office amenities, clinic cleanliness, and affordability of procedures. Besides rating our office, you are able to leave personal comments on what you thought about your visit, what you liked, or what you feel we can change. We are open to any comments and are not afraid of criticism. We to make sure your visit is informative, comfortable and enjoyable!
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Trojan Professional services
Our office works with Trojan professional systems to electronically obtain a general breakdown of your dental insurance. With a click of a button we can obtain quick access to a majority of insurance plans explaining to us patient specific eligibility and benefits. In addition, Trojan updates your insurance coverage on a monthly basis to provide our office with the most current benefits.
Why is this a benefit to you?
Most patients receive their estimation of benefits (EOB) from their insurance company. Trojan professional services, allows our office to verify insurance coverage to better assist you in understanding your benefits and co-pay for current and future dental treatment.
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