The newest revolution in dentistry is here! Conservative laser procedures are fast, easy, usually painless, and offer a level of precision that simply isn’t available with other conventional dental instruments. The dental laser uses an invisible energy beam to perform procedures more efficiently and comfortably for our patients. The dental laser offers little to no bleeding, swelling, infection or post-operative discomfort, and often eliminates the need for sutures. We find the dental laser to be very effective in increasing the quality of our dental care. The laser is used to perform various periodontal and cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Gibbs has received certification for use of the Waterlase dental laser. It is an ER,Cr:YSSUG (erbium, chromium: yttrium, scandium, gallium, garnet for the technical people) laser. It delivers photons into a hydrokinetic air-water spray matrix with resultant microexplosive force into the water spray and surrounding tissue. There is no heating element. This new laser can actually achieve patient’s dream of needle-less dentistry that is usually painless and comfortable. There is reduced chair time as we can do fillings without waiting for anesthetic and the patient can leave without “that numb feeling.” There is less after-treatment discomfort as it sterilizes as it functions. It is completely clean and quiet (No Drill Whine!) as the patient only notices a water spray (especially as contrasted to the messy older air abrasion method). It is far kinder to the tooth and underlying pulp and leaves a tooth without micro-fractures, with better bond strength of restorations, and a more decay resistant interface.

We now have a laser than can detect decay hidden beneath the surface of the teeth so that decay can be discovered at an earlier stage and treated more conservatively. The truth of the matter is that dentistry’s old dental pick, or explorer, detects only about 40% of the decay in the deep grooves of teeth. The outer enamel portion of teeth have become harder though the years with the event of fluorides in water and toothpaste, while the middle portion of tooth, or dentin, has remained basically the same. What looks like a small groove on the surface is like a cavern to bacteria. Some of these grooves are smaller than what the old explorers can penetrate into.The laser has a tip of about 0.2 mm in diameter. When the laser light encounters decay beneath the surface, the decay will fluoresce. The amount of fluoresced light reflected back correlates to the amount of decay present with an accuracy of over 95%!

Imagine:

• Gum surgery that is often nearly painless and “blood-less”.
• Fast easy removal of frenums for recession or “tongue tied” persons.
• Can also be used for pathology biopsy and removal of “gummy” smiles.
• Nearly painless removal of cold sores or canker sores. It only takes a few minutes!
• Laser root canals and pediatric pulptomy.
• Faster and more effective desensitization of exposed root surfaces.

This treatment involves re-contouring and shaping the gum tissue that surrounds one or more teeth. It may be performed for functional or aesthetic reasons. Laser gum contouring is used to enhance the patient’s smile. For example, the procedure may be used to improve the appearance of “gummy” smile where teeth appear too short. The teeth may actually be the proper length, but too much gum tissue covers them. Also, in some cases, the gum line is uneven - which can make the teeth appear irregular. Dr. Gibbs can re-contour the gum tissue to create a more even and balanced smile where cosmetic concepts like the “golden-proportion” and “width-heights” ratios of the teeth can be idealized.

See our photo gallery for “Gummy Smiles”

Gum disease is caused by the bacterial infection in the periodontal pockets.  Periodontal pockets are present in people infected with periodontal disease, as the gum is detached from the teeth due to the disease.  These pockets are very challenging to keep clean.  The treatment for gum disease is root-planing where we remove the contaminated superficial part of the root by instrumentation and scaling.  The Laser can effectively disinfect the inside of the periodontal pockets after a thorough root planing procedure.  The laser generates a beam of concentrated light in short pulses to disinfect gingival (gum) tissue with great precision. It is a quicker and better way than any of the traditional procedures.