What Are the Advantages of Laser Dental Treatment?

Does the sound of a dentist’s drill set your teeth on edge? Do you break into a cold sweat when you think about visiting your dentist? If so, laser dentistry may be a good option for you. Laser dentistry is less painful and involves little discomfort. Furthermore, it is applicable in several different dental procedures and delivers notable benefits.

What Is Laser Dental Treatment?

This type of dental treatment involves the use of lasers to treat various dental conditions. Dentists have been using this form of treatment to treat certain dental problems since 1989. Laser dental treatment offers a more comfortable and pain-free treatment for dental conditions involving soft and hard tissue.

The laser tool creates light energy in a focused and narrow beam. When it hits certain oral tissues, the laser energy produces a reaction that allows for the reshaping or removal of tissue. Dental care professionals use laser dentistry to perform various procedures, including:

• Teeth whitening.
• Treatment of hypersensitivity.
• Treatment of gum disease.
• Treatment of tooth decay.

Laser technology can make dental procedures more comfortable, affordable, and efficient. Furthermore, laser dentistry is an FDA-approved treatment option for several dental issues.

How Dentists Perform Laser Treatments

Dental care practitioners typically use laser dentistry procedures to treat hard and soft tissue problems. Soft tissue, when it comes to your mouth, refers to your gums. Hard tissue, on the other hand, refers to your teeth.

Soft Tissue Treatments

These refer to procedures such as crown lengthening, treating a gummy smile, removing soft folds, and treating tongue frenulum. Laser dental treatment can be quite effective at treating these conditions. For example, if you have a gummy smile, your dentist can use a laser to reshape your gum tissue.

If you have soft tissue folds resulting from ill-filling dentures, laser dentistry can remove them in a pain-free manner. You will not even need ant sutures. Laser dental treatment can also reshape both bone and gum tissue in your mouth for a healthier and more attractive tooth structure. It can play a beneficial role in placing restorations on a patient’s teeth.

Do you have a tight or thick skin fold beneath the front part of your tongue? Does this problem tend to anchor your tongue to the floor of your mouth? If so, you may benefit from a laser dentistry procedure known as a laser frenectomy. This procedure can help kids with a restricted frenulum, causing them to experience difficulties breastfeeding or speaking.

Hard Tissue Treatments

Some of the most common hard tissue conditions that can benefit from laser dentistry include cavity detection and tooth sensitivity. With dental laser treatment, you do not need traditional dental drills and local anesthesia.

This is because the lasers used during treatments can detect and kill bacteria in cavities. They can even find early signs of tooth decay and treat teeth with cold and/or hot sensitivity by sealing tubes on their roots.

Other uses of laser dental procedures include:

• Teeth whitening.
• Viewing gum and tooth tissue.
• Treating cold sores.
• Removal of benign tumors.
• Nerve regeneration.
• Treatment of TMJ.
• Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

Cost of Treatment

Laser dental treatments can vary in price. However, it will depend on the treatment type and the laser equipment used by your dentist. That said, dental treatments may be more affordable in the long run. This is because you will usually require fewer treatments.

To learn more about the advantages of laser dental treatment, visit Castro Valley Dentistry at our office in Castro Valley, California. You can call (510) 674-0900 today to schedule an appointment.