“Laser” is one of those words we hear and often use without thinking a whole lot about? For example, did you realize that “laser” is an acronym? The first laser was operated in May 1960 by Theodore Maiman at the Hughes Research Laboratory in California. Maiman submitted a paper about his project to a journal called Physical Review Letters, only to have it turned down. By the way, any idea what “laser” stands for? Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
Since the early 1990s, specifically designed lasers have been used for dental procedures and dental surgery. While lasers are a relatively new addition to your dentist in Seton’s available resources, they’re increasingly common and significant. Here’s what you need to know about laser dentistry in Seton.
Benefits of laser dentistry near you
There are several reasons why a dentist near you offers laser dentistry services. Those benefits include:
- Soft tissue procedures can be completed without the need for stitches
- Many procedures can be completed entirely without pain or the need for anesthesia
- Laser dentistry minimizes the amount of bleeding and blood loss because it is far less invasive
- The reduction in bleeding keeps your mouth more sterile during treatment and reduces recovery time
- Because lasers sterilize the area being treated during treatment, there is a much lower risk of infection
- Because laser dentistry treatment is less invasive and more sterile, dentists may be able to accomplish a larger number of procedures in a single appointment to make treatment more convenient for you
Types and uses of dental lasers
Dentists near you use two different types of lasers to treat patients: hard tissue and soft tissue lasers.
A hard tissue laser produces wavelengths that are easily absorbed by the calcium phosphate salt found in bone and teeth and by water. That characteristic makes hard lasers appropriate for cutting hard tooth material precisely. For this reason, dentists frequently use hard lasers to prepare or shape teeth for bonding, for removing small pieces of teeth, and to repair dental fillings. Hard tissue lasers can reshape bone to expose healthier tooth structure when required.
Soft tissue lasers emit wavelengths easily absorbed by water and hemoglobin, a protein in your red blood cells. Those characteristics make soft lasers an ideal tool for managing soft tissues while, for example, treating periodontal disease. Soft tissue lasers can kill bacteria on and around your gums and even stimulate the re-growth of healthy gum tissue. Soft tissue lasers can also penetrate soft tissues to seal blood vessels and nerve endings. Those important capabilities mean that people receiving treatment with soft tissue lasers experience almost no pain after undergoing treatment. Soft tissue lasers can reshape gum tissue to expose healthier tooth structure and to reduce “gummy” smiles, eliminate tongue-tie in infants, and painlessly remove soft tissue folds produced by dentures that don’t fit properly.
In addition to these hard and soft lasers, innovation has led to the development of additional lasers for other purposes. For example, Optical Coherence Tomography safely and instantly produces images of the inside of teeth non-invasively in real-time. Lasers are also used by dentists near you for removing benign tumours painlessly and without requiring stitches, for removing cold sores, to regenerate damaged nerves, to reshape throat tissue to treat sleep apnea, to whiten teeth, and to reduce pain and swelling of your temporomandibular joint.
If you are searching for a dentist or concerned about receiving the least invasive, least painful, most comfortable, and most efficient dental treatment, ask dentists near you what laser dentistry services they offer to improve and sustain your oral health.