Laser dentistry is an area that employs lasers to treat various dental diseases. It refers to a tiny beam of extremely focused light introduced to a specific tissue to mould or eradicate it from the mouth. Read on to know more about our laser dentistry in Richmond Hill.
Laser Dentistry
Laser dentistry is used for various treatments, ranging from simple to more difficult dental operations such as teeth whitening, gum disease treatment, tooth decay therapy, and hypersensitivity treatment.
What Is Laser Dentistry?
While the most common application of laser treatments is in the field of medicine and cosmetic surgery, dentists also use laser treatments. You may be familiar with laser whitening treatments, but lasers provide many more alternatives for dental care.
While not yet common in many dental offices, the use of lasers to treat complex and soft tissue dental diseases is rapidly rising and becoming a viable alternative in many dental clinics.
“Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation” is what LASER stands for. Dentists utilize laser equipment to create a narrow, concentrated beam of light that reacts to specific tissue.
To target specific tissue, each laser device produces distinct wavelengths. Soft tissue lasers, for example, target gum and soft tissue like the gums, whereas hard tissue lasers target hard tissue like teeth and bone.
You may be given anesthetic or sedation when you come in for laser dental treatment, though at a considerably lower dose than with traditional dentistry. As a result, you won’t feel the vibrations and discomfort of typical dental drills, and you’ll have little to no pain or discomfort in most circumstances.
Laser treatments are frequently considerably faster and less expensive than standard dental procedures, and they often have other advantages.
What Is the Process of Laser Treatment?
Hard tissue and soft tissue procedures are the two basic categories of laser dentistry procedures. The teeth are hard tissue, while the gums are soft tissue. Procedures for hard tissue include:
- Detection of caverns. Dentists can detect cavities early using lasers by looking for signs of tooth decay.
- Dental fillings and tooth preparation: Laser treatments generally do not require local anesthetic or traditional drilling. In addition, lasers can eliminate bacteria in cavities, which can help a tooth’s long-term health.
- Tooth sensitivity treatment. Dentists can use dental lasers that seal tubules on the tooth’s root to treat teeth that are sensitive to warmth and cold.
Standard Soft Tissue Procedures Include
- Taking care of a “gummy grin.” In a “gummy smile,” in which the gums cover much of the teeth, the dentist reshapes the gum tissue with laser dentistry.
- Crown elongation: This technique reshapes gum tissue and bone for a healthy tooth structure, which aids in dental restorations.
- The dentist treats the tongue frenulum attachment. A laser frenectomy may be beneficial for those who have a thick or tight frenulum (the fold of skin under the front section of the tongue that anchors to the mouth floor). This treatment aids tongue-tied children who have trouble breastfeeding or have a speech handicap due to a constricted frenulum.
- The dentist removes soft tissue folds. Lasers can eliminate soft tissue folds from ill-fitting dentures without pain or stitches.
Other Tissue Procedures Are
- Viewing tissues is another laser procedure. For example, a clinician can safely use optical coherence tomography to view inside a tooth or gum tissue.
- Benign tumour removal: Dentists can remove tumours on the palate, gums, and sides of the lips and cheeks without lasers, discomfort, or sutures.
- Obstructive sleep apnea treatment: When tissue overgrowth in the neck causes sleep apnea, lasers can remodel the throat and ease associated breathing issues.
- Treatment for TMJ (temporomandibular joint): Lasers can aid in the reduction of joint discomfort and inflammation.
- Regeneration of nerves: Lasers can assist rebuild damaged blood vessels, nerves, and scars.
- Cold sore treatment: Lasers can treat cold sores to reduce healing time and pain.
- Whitening your teeth: During teeth-whitening procedures, lasers accelerate the bleaching process.
Benefits of Laser Dentistry
Patients benefit from laser dentistry for various reasons, including reduced or eliminated pain during dental operations.
- Some procedures do not require an anesthetic.
- Lasers sanitize the region as they treat it, reducing the chance of bacterial infections.
- Sutures are used less frequently in specific treatments.
- The laser increases blood coagulation, resulting in minimal bleeding.
- Healing times are shorter.
- Reduced pain and edema after surgery.
- Minor damage to surrounding tissue – lasers emit focused light that allows the dentist to focus on the injured tissue while leaving good tissue alone.
- Reduced fear and enhanced comfort – the sound of a dental drill is enough to scare many individuals away from going to the dentist. Laser treatments are very painless and silent, allowing patients to feel more at ease and calm.
- After laser dentistry therapy, the requirement for medicines and antibiotics is reduced.
Disadvantages of Laser Dentistry
- Lasers cannot be used on teeth with specific fillings, such as metal amalgam fillings.
- Hard lasers can damage tooth pulp.
- Anesthesia is still a requirement for some laser operations.
- Drills are sometimes required to finish fillings, such as shaping, correcting the bite, and polishing. Laser treatment cannot perform several procedures due to preexisting surrounding tissue or components affecting the tooth or gums,
- Gum damage is a possibility.
Best Laser Dentistry in Richmond Hill
Patients prefer laser dentistry since it is more comfortable, effective, and inexpensive than traditional dental treatments in today’s world. Contact us to book an appointment for the best Laser Dentistry in Richmond Hill.