Laser in oral surgery

A growing number of dental practitioners around the world are keeping pace with technology to provide patients with optimal service and care for their overall oral health. One of these technologies is a laser, a device that produces coherent electromagnetic radiation. The first laser was invented in 1960 and has been used in dentistry since 1994.

Laser usage is widespread in all areas and branches of dentistry and is generally divided into hard tissue lasers, which include teeth, and soft tissue lasers, which implies gingival and mucous membranes. All lasers operate on the principle of delivering energy in the form of light. In practical terms, this means that the laser acts as an instrument to cut, heat or vaporize tissues.

At the Rident Dental Clinics we use laser primarily in periodontics’ surgery or surgery of soft tissues. Some of the procedures we perform with the laser are:

·         Gummy Smile Treatment and Lengthening of the Clinical Crown of the Tooth: The laser forms a gingiva and underlying bone to restore aesthetic harmony and allow restorations to be placed on the teeth when missing tooth structures.·         Frenulectomy: in cases of strong and long frenulum (duplication of the mucous membrane that connects the upper and lower lips with the gums and the lower side of the tongue with the bottom of the oral cavity), especially in young patients, there are various benefits of using a laser.

• Removal of benign lesions and biopsies.
• Hemostasis – stopping of the bleeding.

·         Treatment of periodontal and peri-implant diseases: serves as an additional decontamination agent and eliminates bacteria, thus providing a superior therapeutic approach.

The advantages of using laser over conventional methods:

• In some cases, the procedures are less painful, thus reducing the need for anesthesia.
• Minimizes bleeding and swelling during soft tissue surgery.
• A minimally invasive method that protects healthy tissues.

The disadvantages of using a laser:

• The speed of the procedure in some cases.
• Although the use of laser is very widespread, the laser still cannot completely replace some conventional surgical methods and must often be combined with to achieve optimal results.
• Does not completely eliminate the need for anesthesia.

Providing superior patient care in modern dentistry is an absolute imperative, any technology that provides us with a fine working tool is most welcome. From all of the above, we can conclude that laser is this type of technology and we should strive to use it whenever possible.