No-donor gum grafts:  One of the newest developments for dentistry right now is a new donor material that eliminates the need for taking a donor piece of tissue from the roof of the mouth for covering up the exposed roots of teeth. This means only one surgery site and less pain for the patient. This is still in the research phase but should be available to the public in about a year or so.  

White colored implants: While implants are usually covered over by porcelain crowns the darkness of the titanium implant under the gum can make the gum appear dark. Use of an "abutment" piece made out of white Zirconium has been used to minimize this but for some people the darkness of the implant in their bone still shows through. Recently, the use of the all Zirconium implant has been used with success. Much of it is still in a trial phase and some researchers are concerned that the Zirconium implant might be more brittle than the traditional titanium implant.

Stronger filling materials: Many of the new tooth colored filling materials are stronger than those used just a couple of years ago. New technology has created stronger resins which means that larger fillings can be successfully done. Usually, when a filling was larger than 3 milimeters wide it required a crown or an inlay or an onlay - depending upon the situation. However, with the increased strength many dentists are comfortable using a filling to restore teeth they would have had to do more extensive work on in the past.

Low Level Laser Therapy: Low levels of laser beams on inflammed tissue seems to decrease the inflammation and thus decrease pain for many people. A friend of mine in England does a lot of research on this technique and has successfully treated many people with this low level laser therapy, (LLLT). This can bring hope to people with TMJ pain, inflammed muscles, and headaches - as well as people with pain in other parts of their body.