In order to properly understand how LANAP laser dentistry is an effective therapy, it is important to first understand what periodontal disease is. Periodontal disease, at its core, is when the teeth separate from the gums allowing pockets to exist under the gum line. These pockets can quickly become infected with bacteria and lead to tooth loss, degeneration of the bone, and other serious problems. Often times the first symptom of a periodontal disease is bleeding of gums. Well over 90% of Americans will experience bleeding gums at some point during their life. It is important to note that if you have consistent bleeding gums you need to get inspected for gingivitis or the even more serious periodontal disease. The good news is that with the LANAP laser dentistry tools, we have an effective therapy to help treat periodontal disease.
Typically we find that the LANAP protocol using LANAP laser dentistry is a procedure that can be completed in two visits, although it has been known to be done in one appointment. On average each of these visits last roughly two hours and you will need to see the dentist for a one-hour post-operative appointment for an evaluation after about a week. The procedure itself works by targeting a specific wavelength of laser light at the disease infected pockets, under the gum line, where the tooth has separated from the gum. This helps to address the underlying connectivity issues as well as the disease or infection. Since the laser is extremely selective and pinpointed at the diseased tissue, the underlying connective tissue which connects the tooth and gums is allowed to heal and regenerate rather than having them affected, allowing for a much more rapid recovery. Simultaneously, by removing the diseased tissue with a laser, healthy tissue has more room to grow and this works well for the re-connection and regeneration of the healthy tissue.
One of the things to understand about LANAP laser dentistry is that during the first year after the procedure typically no work will be done to disturb the periodontal tissue. In fact, we will only be treating caries and working on temporization. If a patient requires restoration type dental work, we will do this before having the LANAP laser dentistry protocols implemented since very few patients want to wait a year for restorative dentistry.
The good news about this procedure is that it is far more comfortable than traditional methods of treating gum disease. For this reason, many of our patients prefer laser dentistry. To learn more about this procedure, call and schedule a consultation.
