Past Dentistry Options vs. Laser Dentistry Benefits
Laser Dentistry: How Is It Different?
June 14, 2018Detect and Treat Cavities with Laser Dentistry
June 28, 2018Published on June 23, 2018, Updated on April 13, 2020
Laser dentistry is the technology of today and the future. Gone are the days when drill dentistry was your only options. When you think of visiting the dentist, do you think about shots and drills? These thoughts cause up to 10% of people to avoid visiting the dentist due to dental phobias of pain. However, there are dentistry options that are available today that weren’t available in the past. One of those dentistry options is laser dentistry. Instead of using drills to remove tooth or gum tissues, focused laser light is used to mold, reshape and remove damaged parts of your oral tissues. This light is gentle, seals tissues off immediately and doesn’t come with the sounds drills make. Let us show you how laser dentistry works and how it differs from past dentistry options that use shots and drills.
Traditional (Drill) Dentistry
When it comes to removing decay from teeth, there exists two different technological approaches: drills and lasers. Drill dentistry has been the go-to form of treatment for years. With this approach, your dentist selects metal alloy bits of varying sizes or shapes, depending on the treatment area/surface and attaches them to a drill. The bit combined with the drill use forces to eliminate unwanted decay.
Because of the sensitive gum tissue and nerves surrounding treatment areas, drill dentistry often requires a local anesthetic in the form of an injection to numb the area and ease patient discomfort.
Introducing the Power of the Solea Laser
While all lasers currently available on the U.S. market have been cleared by the FDA, according to a statement made by the American Dental Association, that doesn’t mean that all lasers are equal.
Patients of Dr. Hardy benefit from the high-tech services of Solea Laser dental treatment. Laser dentistry allows us to perform a cavity procedure without a drill and without shots in 99% of cases. Shots are one of the things that children fear most about visiting the dentist. Laser dentistry eliminates that fear.
Laser dentistry also cuts the time your young ones spend in our chair in half. Laser dental care can be administered in a fraction of the time as care with traditional drills.
Dental Laser Tissue Treatment is the Preferred Approach Among Patients
Laser dentistry is definitely more popular among patients than drill dentistry. Drill heat, vibration, and pressure can trigger pain and anxiety in our younger patients. Laser dentistry is able to cut both hard and soft tissues (teeth and gums)without producing heat, vibration or pressure so patients can forego the need for dental anesthesia.
Laser dentistry treatment compared to drill dentistry treatment may:
- Reduce pain. In some instances, lasers eliminate the need for anesthesia. (The laser seals nerve endings.)
- Ease anxiety. Helps relax patients that are uncomfortable with the dental drill.
- Minimize bleeding and swelling. During soft tissue treatments, the laser seals blood vessels, encouraging immediate blood clotting.
- Eliminate the need for stitches. Because the area has been cauterized, stitches may be completely unnecessary for some patients.
- Reduce infection risk. The laser sterilizes the area immediately during treatment.
- Increased precision. Lasers allow the dentist to limit the trauma to the treated area, which spares the surrounding tissue from inadvertent damage.
- Faster healing and regeneration. This occurs as a result of decreased bleeding, trauma and risk of infection.
Other Uses for Lasers in Dentistry
The incorporation of lasers in dentistry is amazing. Not only can lasers be used to eliminate tooth decay, but they can also aid your dentist with gum contouring with gum disease, remove bacteria during root canals, cut a small piece of tissue for oral cancer screenings, treat canker sores, and help with speeding up teeth whitening procedures.
Call for a Laser Dentistry Consultation Today
Learn more about how you your child can benefit from laser dentistry by calling Hardy Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics today at (720) 887-6003!