Scanning, imaging and same-day crowns: what to expect from a dental check-up in South Africa in 2026
Dental care in South Africa has changed considerably over the past decade, largely through the arrival of digital equipment in general practice.
Scanning, imaging and design software that were once confined to specialist referral centres now sit in ordinary consulting rooms.
For patients, the practical consequence is a different kind of appointment, and, in some cases, a different amount of information to work from.
What a modern examination involves
The change is most visible during a check-up.
Alongside a clinical examination, a dental practice may now use full-mouth and facial digital photography, intraoral scanning to build a digital model of the teeth, and Cone Beam Computed Tomography, a three-dimensional scan used to assess bone, roots and anatomy that a conventional X-ray cannot show.
The point of the imaging is discussion.
Findings are reviewed with the patient before a treatment plan is agreed, and the plan is set against that patient’s history, risk profile and circumstances.
“The imaging isn’t the interesting part. The conversation it makes possible is,” says Dr Andrew Sidelsky, principal dentist at Sky Dental Clinic Sandton. “Most patients have never seen a photograph of their own teeth. Once they can see what I am looking at, the discussion changes. They ask better questions, and they are working from the same information I am.”
General and restorative dentistry
A general examination should cover more than teeth. Gum disease assessment, oral cancer screening, an evaluation of existing restorations and home care advice all fall within a routine visit.
Can a crown be completed in one visit?
In suitable cases, yes.
Restorative work is where the digital workflow has changed the process most directly.
Chairside CAD/CAM systems (Sky Dental Clinic uses CEREC) scan the prepared tooth, design the restoration on screen and mill a ceramic crown, inlay or onlay from a solid block on site.
The restoration is fitted the same day, which removes both the temporary crown and the second appointment.
Complex cases and certain materials still require a dental laboratory and a second visit.
Sky Dental Clinic Sandton also provides clear aligner therapy, dental implants (both surgical placement and restoration), periodontal treatment, custom mouthguards, root canal treatment and full-mouth rehabilitation combining implants, crowns, veneers and bite correction into a single coordinated plan.
The practice also has a kids dentist for younger patients and an emergency dentist for urgent cases.
Cosmetic dentistry
Cosmetic treatment extends well beyond tooth whitening. Porcelain veneers, composite bonding, ceramic crowns, tooth contouring and reshaping, gum contouring and full smile makeovers are all routinely available in general practice.
Porcelain veneers or composite bonding?
Porcelain veneers are thin ceramic shells made outside the mouth and bonded to the prepared tooth.
Composite bonding is tooth-coloured resin applied and shaped directly on the tooth in a single visit.
They differ in cost, in longevity, in how much tooth structure is involved and in how they are maintained, which is why the choice follows an assessment rather than a preference.
All cosmetic treatment requires that assessment first, of periodontal health, of the existing bite, and of how much tooth structure is involved, because some procedures are reversible and some are not.
Sky Dental Clinic uses Digital Smile Design, a protocol that uses high-resolution photographs, video and digital models to plan cosmetic treatment against a patient’s facial proportions before any preparation begins.
Cosmetic dentistry has changed.
Digital planning means a patient can be shown a proposal before treatment begins, either as a physical try-in fitted over the existing teeth, or as an on-screen simulation.
What is on the screen is a proposed design rather than a prediction of the result, but it is something the patient can respond to, alter or decline while nothing has yet been done to the teeth.
Aesthetics and longevity medicine on the same premises
Dentition, occlusion, facial musculature and underlying bone change together with age, which is why dental and facial aesthetics increasingly overlap.
Amberfield Medical, an aesthetic and longevity medicine practice, operates from the same Rivonia Road premises.
It is led by Dr Alistair McAlpine, who holds a BDS from the University of the Witwatersrand (2005) and an MBBCh from Wits (2010), and who works as an international trainer in aesthetic medicine.
Care there is consultation-led: medical history, examination and, where clinically indicated, diagnostic bloodwork precede any recommendation.
Treatments are prescription medical procedures, assessed individually, and are not advertised by name.
“As clinicians we watch the skeleton and soft tissue of the face change together over decades. Bone remodels, the muscles of mastication and expression shift their pull, and the teeth themselves wear and move in response,” says McAlpine. “Facial ageing isn’t just skin-deep. A large part of it is structural, and dentistry has always had a front-row seat to that.”
About Dr Andrew Sidelsky
Dr Andrew Sidelsky is principal dentist and owner of Sky Dental Clinic Sandton.
He qualified BDS at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2010 and has practised at 150 Rivonia Road for 12 years.
He is registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (DP0100935), practice number 0506656.
His clinical focus is restorative and cosmetic dentistry, ceramic crowns, porcelain veneers, composite bonding and full-arch rehabilitation, with an emphasis on digital workflows.
He established Sky Dental Clinic in April 2026. He is a Sandton dentist whose practice is built around those digital workflows.
The practice runs five surgeries. The clinical team is Dr Carmen Thöle, Dr Gavi Weinberg, Dr Stelios Markoulides, specialist periodontist Dr Ilan Lager, and oral hygienist Lungelo Ntshalintshali.
Practical details
Sky Dental Clinic Sandton
150 Rivonia Road, Sandton, 2196, Johannesburg
011 326 5814 · [email protected] · skydental.co.za
Treatment is subject to individual clinical assessment and is not appropriate for every patient.
All treatment carries risk, which the treating practitioner will discuss at consultation.
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