For a long time, people thought lasers were just for sci-fi movies and top-secret government research, but today, lasers are routinely used at your local dentist’s office. As dental technology has continued to improve over the years, laser dentistry has become a more accepted and common dental care method. Here’s a brief guide to laser dentistry and the many health benefits it can provide to a patient.
What Is Laser Dentistry?
Lasers concentrate light into a focused, narrow beam that your dentist can use to reshape hard or soft tissue, and laser dentistry uses them to carry out many different types of dental procedures that once could only be performed with metal tools. This makes many of these treatments far less invasive and far more comfortable. These treatments can generally be categorized into two groups:
Hard tissue laser dentistry
Hard tissue laser dentistry involves the dentist using lasers to treat your teeth. This can be done to detect cavities, prepare teeth for treatment, perform dental fillings, and address tooth sensitivity.
Soft tissue laser dentistry
Soft tissue laser dentistry is used to treat soft oral tissues. This can be done to reshape gums into more pleasing forms, perform surgical procedures, adjust muscle attachments, remove soft tissue, or address tongue ties.
Is Laser Dentistry Good for My Health?
Laser dentistry offers many significant benefits for your oral and overall health. These include:
- Quicker healing times and less discomfort: Since laser dentistry minimizes how much tissue must be stressed or altered during treatment, it can be far more comfortable and involve a much shorter recovery period.
- Minimized risks of infection: Lasers are incredibly precise, meaning they won’t create small abrasions in your soft tissues that can become infected. Lasers also sterilize the area being treated, meaning that they kill all the bacteria at the site of treatment.
- More peaceful treatments: Many people suffer from some form of dental anxiety, and the noisy, mechanical whines that come from many dental tools can aggravate that situation. Lasers, however, are virtually silent and don’t make contact with the teeth during treatment.
Dental technology will continue to advance and improve as time goes on, so why not start enjoying the benefits of all that progress now? Consulting with your dentist can determine if you are a good candidate for laser dentistry.
About the Practice
Gramercy Dental Studio delivers the best dental care available to the good people of New York, NY. Led by Drs. Newman and Puglisi, the staff treats each patient with compassion and personalized care. Areas of expertise include general, cosmetic, restorative, and emergency dentistry. To learn more about how dentists can use lasers to improve your dental health, contact the office online or dial (212) 924-6890.
