Laser Dentistry

Laser dentistry uses heat from light energy to treat a range of dental issues. Dentists have been using laser therapy since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its use in dentistry in the 1990s. Depending on the laser, the light generates heat that can cut or destroy tissue. In some cases, it helps tissue heal.

Lasers haven’t replaced your dentist’s standard tools, like drills and forceps. And not every dental care provider chooses to use lasers. But many use them to complement the standard dental instruments they rely on most.

Your dental care provider may use laser therapy to:

• Disinfect for a root canal: Lasers can kill bacteria deep inside your tooth. This helps sanitize the area before a root canal.
• Ease TMJ pain: The heat can ease inflammation and pain in your temporomandibular joint (TMJ). This is the joint that connects your jaw to your skull.
• Prepare your teeth for restorations: Lasers can reshape your gums and teeth so that crowns, implants and fillings fit snugly. They can seal small tooth cracks, allowing sealants and bonds to stick.
• Release a tongue-tie: Laser procedures can remove excess tissue on the part of your tongue that connects it to the floor of your mouth (frenulum).
• Relieve sensitive teeth: The focused heat can seal the channels (tubules) inside dentin, an inner layer of your teeth. This can help relieve tooth hypersensitivity.
• Remove lesions: Lasers can get rid of canker sores, cold sores and other abnormal growths. Your dental care provider may use a laser to take a tissue sample for a biopsy.
• Treat cavities: Laser treatments for cavities can kill bacteria and remove decayed parts of teeth. They can reinforce the structure of the remaining healthy parts.
• Treat gum disease: Laser dentistry can kill bacteria near your tooth’s root. This is the area that leads to a serious form of gum disease called periodontitis.
• Whiten teeth: The laser light can activate the bleaching solutions your dentist applies to your teeth, helping them whiten faster.

Lasers can also promote blood clotting and tissue repair in the parts of your mouth where you had work done. In this case, a laser can help the wound heal faster.

What happens during this treatment?

Your dental care provider may fit you with glasses to protect your eyes. Often, they’ll use the laser along with other dental tools. Many dental lasers look like pens connected to a charging station.

During treatment, a laser (the pen-like device) directs a focused beam of light toward the treatment site. The light heats water inside tissue, changing the liquid into vapor. This leads to mini explosions within the tissue that destroy or cut through it. As with traditional dental procedures, you’ll get numbing medicine so you don’t feel the pain.

The light comes in different wavelengths. The lengths affect whether lasers work on soft or hard tissue:

• Soft tissue lasers: They can remove or shape soft tissue (like your gums) and kill bacteria. Common types include CO2 and diode lasers.
• Hard tissue lasers: This type can change hard tissue (like your teeth). The light gets absorbed by both water and hydroxyapatite. This is a mineral found in teeth and bone. Common types include ER and ER,CR lasers.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy is a form of laser therapy that heals tissue. Also called low-level laser therapy (LLLT), it uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that activate cells to start the healing process. The light energy also reduces pain and inflammation.

What are the potential benefits and risks of this treatment?

Researchers are still learning the best uses of laser dentistry. Currently, dental care providers mostly use them when working with soft tissue. Lasers complement traditional approaches during minimally invasive dental procedures.

Benefits of laser dentistry may include:

• Precise destruction of diseased tissue that spares healthy tissue
• Easier access to challenging treatment sites, like the periapical area (near the tooth root)
• Reduced bleeding, pain and healing time
• Stronger enamel, especially when lasers are used with other strengthening treatments, like fluoride

Lasers may also reduce the anxiety many people have about getting dental work done that involves drills.

Risks are minimal. Any tool that uses destructive heat can harm healthy tissue. But dental care providers take as much care to prevent injury with laser treatments as they do with other dental tools.

Is laser dental treatment worth it?

It can be. But you should weigh the pros and cons with your dental care provider.

Researchers continue to find new benefits of laser dentistry. These benefits will likely only increase as technology improves.

But not every dentist or dental office uses laser therapy. Uses and treatment approaches vary among providers who do use it. But most dental procedures don’t require lasers to get the job done.

It’s best to think of laser therapy as just one of many tools your provider may use to care for your oral health. They can explain when and why it’s the best option for you.