Why Laser Dentistry? - Grace Dental Framingham MA

Laser dentistry is viewed by some as a precise and effective way to perform many dental procedures. Those seeking extreme safety and comfort may select a laser dentistry option.
The potential for laser dentistry to improve dental treatment comes from the precision with which lasers can treat an area of focus, the control that laser dentists have over power output, and the duration of exposure on the skin.
Here are some of the major benefits associated with laser dentistry:
• Procedures performed using dental lasers may not require sutures.
• Certain laser dentistry procedures do not require anesthesia.
• Laser dentistry minimizes bleeding because the high-energy light beam aids in the clotting (coagulation) of exposed blood vessels, thus inhibiting blood loss.
• Bacterial infections are minimized because the high-energy beam sterilizes the area being worked on.
• Damage to surrounding tissue is minimized.
• Wounds heal faster and tissues can be regenerated.

Laser Dentistry Treatment Improvements

The application of lasers in dentistry opens the door for dentists to perform a wide variety of dental procedures they otherwise may not be capable of performing. Dentists using lasers in dentistry have become adept at incorporating the state-of-the-art precision technology into a number of common and not-so-common procedures:
• Benign Tumors: Dental lasers may be used for the painless and suture-free removal of benign tumors from the gums, palate, sides of cheeks, and lips.

• Viewing Tooth and Gum Tissues: Optical Coherence Tomography is a safer way to see inside tooth and gums in real time.
• Cold Sores: Low intensity dental lasers reduce pain associated with cold sores and minimize healing time.
• Crown Lengthening: Dental lasers can reshape gum tissue and bone to expose healthier tooth structure. Called crown lengthening, such reshaping provides a stronger foundation for a restoration.
• Muscle Attachment (Frenula): A laser frenectomy is an ideal treatment option for children who are tongue tied (restricted or tight frenulum) and babies unable to breast feed adequately due to limited tongue movement. A laser frenectomy may also help to eliminate speech impediments.
• Sleep Apnea: In cases where sleep apnea is a result of a tissue overgrowth in areas of the throat (which sometimes occurs with age), a laser assisted uvuloplasty or laser assisted uvula palatoplasty (LAUP) procedure can be performed to reshape the throat and relieve the correlating breathing problems associated with sleep apnea.
• Soft Tissue Folds (Epulis): Dental lasers may be used for the painless and suture-free removal of soft tissue folds often caused by ill-fitting dentures.
• Teeth Whitening: Low intensity soft tissue dental lasers may be used to speed up the bleaching process associated with teeth whitening.

• Gummy Smile: Dental lasers can reshape gum tissue to expose healthy tooth structure and improve the appearance of a gummy smile.
• Tooth Sensitivity: Dental lasers may be used to seal tubules (located on the root of the tooth) that are responsible for hot and cold tooth sensitivity.
Dental lasers are not appropriate to use for the replacement of amalgam fillings, onlays, or crowns.