How Lasers Have Changed Everything
Technological advantages for the sake of technological advances are one thing, appropriate in the category of science fiction. When it comes to dental treatment, though, the most important technological advances are the ones that make treatment more efficient, more comfortable, faster, safer and less risky. One advancement that you’ll encounter in the realms of science, science fiction and dentistry — and one with important benefits for patients — is lasers.
What do dentists do using lasers?
Treating tooth decay. Your dentist at Dentrix Dental will use hard tissue lasers to precisely target and remove decayed tooth material without disturbing or removing healthy tooth matter. Removing tooth decay and preparing an infected tooth for a filling with traditional tools often remove healthy tooth materials. Using lasers, a dentist near you will protect your healthy tooth matter while providing the treatment you need. The laser also sterilizes the area to be treated in advance of a filling being placed.
Treating gum disease. Soft tissue lasers are used to remove infected gum tissue and to treat periodontal disease without having to make any incisions in your gums and without causing any bleeding. The ability to treat gum disease without causing bleeding reduces the risk of infection and your recovery time while eliminating bacteria and preventing the spread of infection.
Speaking of your gums, lasers are also used at Dentrix Dental to reshape your gums in a process called gum contouring. Gum contouring changes the shape and location of the line of your gums to reduce a gummy smile and to increase the apparent length of your teeth.
Removing potentially problematic tissue. Dentists regularly screen patients for tissues that may contain abnormal cells indicative of potential oral cancer. Dentists often detect those cells using another technological innovation called a VELscope scanner. If any tissue of concern is identified, your dentist in NW Calgary may use a soft tissue laser to quickly, painlessly and bloodlessly remove a small amount of tissue to be biopsied.
What are the advantages of using lasers?
● Soft tissue laser treatments can be performed without requiring stitches because the treated area is sealed by the laser itself
● Treatments and procedures that traditionally caused pain or discomfort can now be performed painlessly using dental lasers, even without anesthetic or with just local anesthetic
● Treatments performed with lasers produce far less bleeding or none at all
● Because you will experience far less bleeding — or none at all — your dentist will be able to maintain a far more sterile treatment area and will be able to work more quickly and safely due to increased visibility
● Recovering from far less invasive laser-based procedures takes far less time than recovering from traditional forms of treatment
● The already low risk of infection after undergoing dental treatment is decreased even further by treatment with dental lasers
● Because laser dentistry in NW Calgary is far less invasive and causes less bleeding and has shorter recovery times than traditional procedures, dentists are able to combine multiple procedures into a single appointment. That means less time at the dentist’s office and lower costs for you.
When choosing a new dentist for you or your family, ask the dentist’s staff about their investments in the latest dental technologies and how those technologies are used to make treatment easier for patients. We are constantly investigating, testing, learning about and training in new technologies to support our patients’ health and bring effective treatment within reach of even anxious or vulnerable patients. Laser dentistry near you is just one example of those types of technology, one that can make receiving a wide range of types of treatment safer, faster, more effective and more comfortable.
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