Laser Dental Care - with the Waterlase MD
The Waterlase MD
The fusion of laser light power and water to gently remove decay or gum tissue at slightly below body temperature. (It's NOT hot like you see in the movies but it's certainly state of the art).
The laser never actually touches the tooth, unlike a drill, so you don't have that awful scary dental drill whine and vibration that we all hate. Instead there is a gentle sound like popcorn popping)
Laser light has another amazing quality - it stimulates healing so laser fillings are less likely to hurt afterwards than those drilled conventionally. Surgery heals in as little as 40% of the time and after pain is greatly reduced to the point where many of my patients do not even need a painkiller afterwards. In addition the laser sterilizes as it cuts so that the incidence of infection is far less.
More than 4000 dentists in the USA are currently using the Waterlase MD which was launched in 2002 yet at present there are only 15 in the UK and out of those only a few users offer their patients the full range of laser dental treatments as available at The Harman Dental clinic.
Pain Free Fillings without Injections
Laser light has the ability to numb the nerve fibers in and around the tooth so that small and medium sized fillings can be done painlessly without injections. If there is still some sensitivity dental local anesthetic can be given virtually painlessly by computerized drip (The Wand).
Laser Root Fillings
The Waterlase MD "pressure washes" and sterilizes the inside of root canals 10x more efficiently than other conventional methods. This reduces the incidence of after pain, re-infection and increasing the success. Root filling experts agree that the most important part of any root filling is the disinfecting and cleaning of the complex root canal system.
Laser Fillings in Children
The laser is the ideal tool if your child is unfortunate enough to need a filing due to decay or an accident. The laser never touches the tooth so there is no vibration unlike a drill and the ability of the laser to “numb” the tooth even in deep fillings is a wonderful advantage in children. Also the children tend to look at the laser differently regarding it as a high-tech toy rather than an instrument of fear.
Laser Tooth Desenitizing
The laser can gently seal the nerve ending in the open pores of the roots leading to an immediate reduction in root sensitivity
Gum Smile Lifts - (Surgical raising of excess gum tissue around the teeth)
The laser is the ideal tool to do surgical gum lifts and it offers highly predictable results with a minimum of after pain and rapid healing unlike scalpel surgery.
Minimal Invasive Dentistry
The laser can be set to remove the very smallest amount of tooth enamel to painlessly remove small imperfections such as black and white marks and stained cracks.
No or Minimal Prep Veneers
The laser can gently remove any excess tooth and create the perfect surface for high strength bonding of veneers that is slightly roughened and totally clean.
Veneer Removal and Refitting
The ability to soften the bonding glue of existing veneers means they can be removed without deep drilling of the tooth that results in further tooth loss. It is also possible in certain circumstances to remove existing veneers intact, remove the old glue and rebind them to the teeth giving them several years more life. (This is useful when for instance the veneers look good but the glue around the edges has discoloured – common on older veneers).
Removal of Orthodontic "glue"
The laser has the unique property to soften the plastic in “white” filling materials including orthodontic glue so it can be gently wiped away rather than drilled off which can damage the surface of the tooth. Left on glue renders the tooth more prone to staining.
Laser Gum Treatment
Lasers are now been used as part of the treatment of gum disease extensively in the USA and parts of Europe in conjunction with conventional scaling, root planing, and oral hygiene instruction. Lasers effectively clean and disinfect pockets reducing the need for antibiotics and conventional gum surgery.
Laser Light Healing
Laser "Band-aid" treatment using low doses of light to stimulate the cells to heal faster and to reduce pain and inflammation is well known in medicine and works just as well for dental treatment. Excellent to speed up the healing of dental ulcers, cold-sores and also after mouth surgery.
Laser Assisted Tooth Extraction
The use of lasers to gently work round the tooth socket until the roots can be popped out gives far less after pain and inflammation than conventional extraction. It is ideal for pre-dental implant extractions as there is very little damage to the tooth socket leading to maximum preservation of the jawbone tissue. Implants require as much bone as possible to take successfully.
Exposing Buried Wisdom Teeth
The laser can remove excess skin around wisdom teeth with the minimum of discomfort and fast healing compared to electro or conventional surgery.
Removal of pigmented moles in the mouth
The laser can gently remove pigmented moles on the gum. This heals rapidly with no scaring and minimal after pain.
When do we still have to use a drill?
Laser cannot remove grey "mercury" fillings and cannot cut through metal-based crowns or bridges. Also there is one type of tooth coloured filling that cannot be softened with a laser. For this reason a dental drill may be required for part of a filling procedure.
At the moment a drill is useful for at least part of the crown and bridge preparation procedure. However in the USA some dentists are now doing even full mouth preparations with the laser so watch this space.
Will the Laser "numb" my Tooth Well Enough?
The laser has the ability to "numb" the nerves that transmit pain to the brain effectively. However you can still feel cold and touch and in some cases there can be mild breakthrough twinges. Some patients find this uncomfortable and in those instances we use virtually painless syringe-free computerized drip local anesthetic (the Wand).
