At Hunt Valley Dental, we offer a wide variety of services that utilize state-of-the-art technology to provide you with the absolute best that cosmetic dentistry has to offer.

Same-Day Crowns: Dr. Rhodes of Hunt Valley Dental can offer same-day crowns and restorations due to the use and expertise of CEREC. CEREC allows Dr. Rhodes to create all-porcelain restorations during the same day as your appointment, which will enable you to enjoy a beautiful smile faster and without needing to schedule a second appointment. Dr. Rhodes is one of the few dentists in the area to offer such services.

Digital X-Rays: Digital dental X-rays offer many advantages. Although the risk of radiation damage from standard X-rays is small, digital X-rays limit exposure by up to 50%, enhancing your safety significantly. To take a digital X-ray of your teeth, we insert a tiny sensor into your mouth. The sensors are scanned instantly, transmitting them to a computer screen, where Dr. Rhodes will review them with you. You can see any problems for yourself while reviewing your treatment options together. Digital X-rays help you to be more informed about your dental health.

VibraJect: This device attaches to the syringe creating a vibration. The purpose of the vibration is to make the injection more comfortable. Our patients love it!

Micro-Dentistry: Micro-dentistry is a new, alternative way to treat decay in teeth. This technology aims to remove as little of the natural tooth as possible while removing all of the decay. 

Our new bonding techniques, decay indicating dyes, magnification, fiber-optic lights, and white filling materials make it easier to remove decay from a tooth conservatively. A filling is then placed to restore the tooth to its original strength and beauty. Over 90% of the time, we do not need to make you numb to do micro-dentistry to eliminate the need for a shot. With the reduced need for anesthetic, we can complete more work in a shorter time since we can work in multiple areas of your mouth in the same appointment. In addition to saving time, you will enjoy reducing noise usually caused by a traditional dental drill.

How is this done? 

We use air-abrasion, a relatively new process in which a fine, pressurized stream of aluminum oxide powder is used to remove the small decayed pits and fissures in teeth. Research studies have shown that in the absence of smoking and coffee drinking, if a patient presents with dark stained pits in their teeth, decay is present over 90% of the time underneath the stains. In our office, we believe very strongly in the prevention and early treatment of disease. It just makes good sense to treat minor cavities early with conservative micro-dentistry than to wait for things to get worse.

Lasers: Hunt Valley Dental utilizes the DIAGNOdent cavity detection device. The DIAGNOdent is a laser device that allows Dr. Rhodes to detect cavities quickly and easily, spotting them well before they become visible. This laser is completely painless and allows cavities to be seen within grooves of the teeth where decay can be difficult to discover.

Dr. Rhodes also uses a soft tissue laser to address gum disease and uses another laser in place of a traditional scalpel. All of these devices allow Hunt Valley Dental to provide comfortable services to their patients without worrying about the patient experiencing pain or discomfort during their dental appointments. Technologies such as these make positive dental experiences possible for patients of all ages.

Call Hunt Valley Dental today at (410) 771-6300 to schedule a consultation and examination with Dr. Rhodes

Hunt Valley Dentist Discusses Safety of Dental X-Rays

Hunt Valley Dentist Discusses Safety of Dental X-Rays

Hello this is Dr. Tom Rhodes from Hunt Valley Dental.  In today’s dental minute I’ll be discussing a question I often get – how safe are x-rays. Dental x-rays are an important diagnostic tool for all dentists. They allow us to see problem areas that may be undetectable to the naked eye. They allow us to see to structure decay between teeth and areas with deteriorating bone. They are important in almost any kind of oral health diagnosis. That being said, they serve as an important tool in providing you a complete oral health exam. I understand that there is much concern about x-rays and the amount of exposure to radiation that may be present. I’d like to help you understand in comparison to your daily life, the amount of exposure caused by dental x-rays, and help alleviate your fears and concerns about this practice. Even the most common daily activities such as eating a banana, exposes you to radiation. Radiation exposure is measured in micro sieverts.  Eating a banana exposes you to about 0.1 micro sieverts which is a very very low dose of radiation. Let’s compare that to something higher such as receiving an annual mammogram. A mammogram is a very important breast cancer screening tool and exposes you to about 40 micro sieverts of radiation. Both eating a banana and receiving a mammogram are important despite the radiation exposure. Let’s compare these two dental x-rays. A single digital dental x-ray exposes us to about two micro sieverts, not much more than eating a banana. A panoramic x-ray requires about 15 to 20 micro sieverts, which is about what most people receive just from being a living breathing human being on earth. As you can see, the amount of exposure from dental x-rays is very low. It’s impact on your oral health allowing us to find problems early greatly outweighs any risk associated with it. Without x-rays we would not be able to provide thorough preventive comfortable care for your family. I hope you found this dental minute interesting and informative, and look forward to seeing you soon as well your dental questions and comments.


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