Laser Dentistry in Alexandria, Virginia

By Sheri Salartash, DDS, MAGD, NMD, IBDM, FIAOMT, FAAO, FIAO, FICOI

Dynamic Dental Wellness

. https://dynamicdentalwellness.com/

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Laser Dentistry in Alexandria, Virginia

Most of us think of laser as this high-energy beam that slices hard objects in half. Lasers can actually be used in a variety of restorative dental procedures, (such as cavities, root canal, gum disease, gingival reshaping, swelling, inflammation, tissues/bone growth, airway expansion and even regenerating the nerve), giving patients pain-free dental treatment experiences. Many of us have dental anxiety or even have had bad experiences when getting dental treatment done. In this case, laser dentistry becomes a great tool since it can reduce and/or remove the use of needles, making the appointment more effective as well as putting the patient at ease.

What Is Laser Dentistry?

In medicine, many professionals started to use lasers in providing treatment more than half a century ago. This technique has many beneficial characteristics. In surgery, the laser’s light beam is focused precisely on the target area to alter or remove inflamed tissues and kill bacteria, without affecting surrounding healthy tissues. Along with the precision of the laser, a quick recovery for patients is another added bonus. Patients who have laser therapy are less likely to experience pain, bleeding and discomfort after laser treatment. Similarly, the same technique is also utilized in laser dentistry in order to perform advanced dental work.

The development of the dental laser has come far beyond from when it was discovered. Advanced laser therapy can be applied in many types of dental procedures such as removing cavities and overgrown tissue, killing bacteria, performing root canals, treating gum disease, or even whitening teeth without causing sensitivity. Moreover, laser dentistry is ideal for people and children who are sensitive to needles, physical drills or have dental trauma and anxiety in general.

What Are the Benefits of Laser Dentistry?

The latest laser machines utilizes a combo of Erbium:Yag, and Neodymium:Yag (hard and soft tissue lasers) to bring the most comfortable dental experience and minimize gum damage. Since lasers reduce swelling and bleeding they can also be used to increase the recovery time, cutting it by half.

What Are the Different Types of Laser In Dentistry?

There are two main types of lasers: hard tissue and soft tissue. Hard tissue lasers use a specific light wavelength to accurately cut into the calcium phosphate in your teeth to remove only the infected and decayed area. Whereas, soft tissue lasers use another light wavelength that blood tissue and water absorbs easily. These lasers are ideal for targeting soft tissue and exposed blood vessels, while minimizing bleeding and significantly shortening recovery time. Since each kind of tissue absorbs different light wavelengths under varied levels, the laser can be adjusted to be compatible with different types of tissue in a patient’s mouth.

As laser technique is not a requirement for dental work, not many dental offices apply this technology to provide treatment to their patients. Laser-assisted procedures require professional knowledge and expertise and depending on the needed treatment each dental office may have different types of laser machines. Some examples of these machines are the BIOLASE – WaterLase iPlus 2.0, LightScalpel LS-1005, Fotona Lightwalker™, Solea^® CO2 Laser, etc.

According to the ADA Dental Product Guide, Lightwalker™ is a high-performance Er:YAG and Nd:YAG laser machine (soft and hard tissue), which applies a state-of-the-art OPTOflex^® articulated arm, Fotona’s patented QSP and VSP digital square pulse technology to guarantee the ultimate performance and treatment precision.

In conclusion, laser dentistry is an innovation in creating effective and convenient solutions to numerous oral and dental problems, whether it be surgical, cosmetic or restorative. Lasers can improve and speed up the whole dental treatment process, allowing patients to receive painless and needle-less dental treatment.