A Myth?

People tend to want magic. Some verbal command, or a magic wand that can make everything better. We grow up hearing of fairy tales but eventually grow out of it...or not.

In my practice, I have realized we, as adults, are still looking for this magic to happen...in the dental chair.

Laser has been debated by many. Although widely used in medicine, it seems its evolution in dentistry is quite slow. There seems to be a bit of a lack of organized research despite the practitioners seeing positive results which have helped their patients throughout their practice. As a trained certified laser provider, I can tell you that laser is no magic wand. It is an instrument that allows the body to do what it normally does better, for better treatment outcome, and more patient comfort.

In my practice, I mainly use the soft tissue diode laser. I will list some simple but enormous benefits of this laser.

• reduced inflammation/swelling in the soft tissues - instantly.
• patients with gum pain come in, get laser therapy with no injections, and leave without pain - also experience pain subsiding as the laser is being administered.
• disinfects the area where laser is exposed.
• promotes the body to produce more healing cells - better quicker healing.
• all of the above results in zero to highly reduced pain in my patients who receive laser assisted surgery. typical response from patients on followup "I never had to take any pain meds" "I took one before I went to bed, but woke up and felt nothing"
• in the same way, laser assisted perio treatment - deep cleaning and others - also leave my patients with no to minimal pain and less post-operative complications.
• laser, in hypersensitive individuals, helps to reduce the sensitivity, allowing deep cleanings and certain gum treatments with less or no anesthetic. 
• if you receive deep cleaning, the treatment irritate the gums in order to reduce the irritation from the infection. laser helps reduce both at the time of treatment, allowing your body to heal with less effort. 
• can debride infectious tissues arouund implants without disturbing the implant (unlike metal instruments)
• can debride infectious tissues more thoroughly than using only metal instruments, while it promotes healing cell production, unlike metal instruments.

I don't see the need to undermine an instrument which helps my patients feel a lot less pain and experience better healing. Where is this controversy coming from then? Probably from blown up marketing and unrealistic expectations. Well, this is life, not just an issue in the field of laser dentistry.