Lasers Make Dental Visits Pain Free
"Dentist appointment? I'd rather be run over by a convoy of 18-wheelers." This is probably the most common reaction to anything related to dental work. But, recent improvements have made all the difference in the world.
Until recently, dental lasers could not be used to fix cavities. They were strictly for use on gum disease or other soft tissues. The Laser Dental Center in Laguna Hills is one of the few offices in California offering Full Spectrum and true-YAG Laser Dentistry. Dr. Payam C. Ataii is one of the Top Ten Certified Dentists in California using the laser today.
Dr.Ataii first started using lasers in 2002 during his teaching days at USC as a clinical professor and he is one of the pre-eminent dentists using the Laser today. The true-YAG laser works by spraying out a computer-controlled ray of light, cooling the tooth with air and water. The laser energy beam is specifically absorbed by the decay, and when the microscopic cooling system of the water particles are activated, the decay will evaporate and remove the cavity - all without a needle or the drill – and usually with no pain at all. "By using the Laser, I control the amount of heat generated by the laser equipment in first numbing the hard organic tissue (the tooth) where a needle would traditionally be used. Then I remove the decayed tooth by generating a stronger ray of light," Dr. Ataii explains.
Another advantage of the move toward laser technology is something called "microdentistry." Lasers are providing dentists with the precision needed to work on much smaller areas on the teeth. Cavities are softer than healthy tooth structure. Lasers preferentially remove softer structure before hard structure, as opposed to drills, which take away everything in their path. Additionally, fillings done with lasers are much smaller. Old school silver/mercury fillings have a minimum size requirement. As a result, even for a small cavity, dentists have to drill a large hole in the tooth. But bonded fillings only require that the cavity is removed, and they don't have to be any larger than that.
And the laser isn't just for cavities. For patients who need crowns and root canals, the laser is the first choice used by Dr. Ataii. "By using the laser to fix cavities in the first place, we will actually help to prevent the need for crowns and root canals in the future," he explains. Here's why – there are most probably two reasons a patient needs a crown or root canal, and it was most likely on a tooth that had a large old silver/mercury filling in it. Either the old filling got tooth decay (a cavity) under it, or the tooth cracked and broke. Laser treatment can help prevent both of these scenarios. The laser sterilizes the tooth while removing the cavity. Instead of an old silver/mercury filling, a tooth-colored filling is "bonded" to the tooth. The tooth is actually stronger after the filling is placed inside than it was before.
Since the laser sterilizes the tooth, there is less chance of bacteria causing more tooth decay under the filling in years to come. Therefore, there's less chance of needing crowns and root canals. Problems with broken teeth may also be a thing of the past thanks to the laser. Because traditional dental drills spin at about 300,000 rpm (faster than the turbine of a jet engine), the drills can cause micro-cracks in teeth. In glass, a small crack grows larger over time, and the same happens with teeth. Sometimes the small cracks become larger and the tooth breaks and a crown or a root canal is necessary. Laser treatment, on the other hand, does not cause any vibration or cracking of the teeth, and won't inadvertently lead to crowns or root canals.
The Laser isn't used only for cavities -- dental lasers can also be used to treat gum disease, canker sores, and other problems in the mouth. Dr. Ataii even uses lasers to perform root canals – a welcome relief for patients who have endured the traditional methods.
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