When you visit the Maine Center for Dental Medicine in Skowhegan, Maine, Drs, Mohammed Imam and Shafiulla Khan will welcome you with a friendly smile and develop a treatment plan with you for optimal dental health. The Maine Center for Dental Medicine prides itself on utilizing the latest dental technologies and treatments, including laser dentistry.
Lasers in Dentistry
While lasers have been utilized in dentistry for many years, recent developments in technologies have allowed lasers to become improved to handle more work with both hard and soft tissues of the mouth. Lasers in dentistry fall under two categories: hard tissue and soft tissue applications.
Hard Tissue Lasers: These lasers are incredibly effective and can cut into and through the enamel. They can efficiently remove teeth and bone with incredible accuracy. They can be used to shape a tooth before receiving a dental crown or shave down an uneven tooth so old dental fillings can be repaired. Other applications include:
- Detection and removal of cavities
- Preparation for a filling or crown
- Treatment of tooth sensitivity by sealing the roots of the tooth
- Teeth whitening
Soft Tissue Lasers: Diode and YAG lasers are designed to handle issues with the soft tissues of the mouth, including gum disease. A good example is how carbon dioxide lasers can safely and efficiently remove soft gum tissue damaged by advanced-stage gum disease while leaving any healthy tissue in place. These soft tissue lasers are also capable of targeting blood vessels and nerves. Some applications of soft tissue lasers include:
- Reshaping gummy smiles
- Crown lengthening
- Repair of soft tissue defects
- Repair of congenital abnormalities
- Cold sore treatment
- Benign tumor removal
- Tissue removal in the treatment of sleep apnea
Reduced Bleeding and Chance of Infection
When high-energy beams are used for dental work, they reduce bleeding and prevent the risk of infection. This is due to the laser’s ability to coagulate the blood as it works. When you go in with an oral health concern like gum disease (which can lead to gum bleeding and bone loss), you want a treatment that eliminates bacteria from your teeth and gum pockets. This treatment will also reduce bleeding and swelling. At the same time, since the laser is actively sterilizing the treatment area throughout the treatment, there is a significant lessening of risk for infection.
Maximum Control
When you visit your dentist for laser treatment (depending on the treatment), the laser is customizable in a way that allows your dentist to adjust the wavelength and power level of the laser to fit your specific treatment. Adapting and controlling these settings during the treatment allows maximum control throughout the treatment. It also allows your dentist to deliver a complete dental treatment that will serve your specific needs.
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Improved Healing Time
Laser dentistry is incredibly precise, resulting in minimal trauma to tissues in the mouth, including teeth and gums. The laser precisely targets the tissues being worked on, whereas traditional dental treatments utilize less precise hand tools, which can sometimes cause damage to surrounding tissues, resulting in longer recovery times. Laser dentistry is nearly pain-free and requires very minimal recovery time.
Reduced Dental Anxiety
When you talk to somebody who is afraid of the dentist or who has anxiety about setting an appointment, they will likely tell you that the instruments used are what partly cause the fear. Loud drills and needles can be challenging for some individuals to handle. In contrast, those who have undergone treatment using lasers will testify to the fact that there is very little, if any, pain. In addition, the noise and intimidating drills are replaced with a much less intimidating laser tool. What results is a dental experience that creates much less fear and anxiety among patients. Patients are more likely to come in for their regular appointment when the fear is gone, leading to a healthier mouth.
If you are ready to learn more about how laser dentistry can benefit you, please contact the team at the Maine Center for Dental Medicine. To set an appointment, please call [phone].