Traditionally lasers were only used for oral surgery, something we continue to use them for in our office. Additionally, treatment of the gums and teeth is now a reality, and it is successful upward of 95% of the time. Laser dentistry, for use on oral health challenges like cavities or to remove decay, may sound very futuristic. In reality, we are doing it now, using a technology that is head and shoulders above the competition.
As a laser dentistry practitioner, one of the most frequent questions we are asked is why lasers are considered to be superior to some of the traditional tools used by dentists. We believe in evolution, and dentistry is an evolving practice, with lasers being the up and coming technology. This alone makes them better, but there is much more. For starters, lasers help people who have a profound fear of the dentist chair. We have found that statistically over 20% of all patients, in keeping with the national average, experience a great deal of anxiety when visiting the dentist. An additional 5% to 8% will not even visit the dentist because their fear is so great. A lot of this fear comes from the use of tools like an electric drill inside of the mouth. The drill and other metal dental tools were used on a frequent basis until the advent of laser dentistry. Using a completely soundless laser, we can perform the same procedures in a fraction of the time. For people with fears this means we are not only lessening the time you need to spend in the chair but are also removing the most traumatic part of dentistry, the drill.
Laser dentistry even takes things to the next level in pain management. For procedures like treating gum disease, traditional dentists would need to use anesthesia, either local or general. However, a 2002 Japanese study found that laser dentistry could complete the same procedure without needing any anesthesia at all. In the patients who were treated, 65% experienced no discomfort at all, despite the lack of anesthesia. An additional 22% experienced very mild discomfort while a further 4% experienced tolerable discomfort. In total, 91% of the patients were treated without anesthesia for a very common dental ailment. We have also found that the use of lasers allows our patients to remain more comfortable during their treatment while also decreasing the overall recovery time. To learn more, we invite you to call and schedule a consultation.
